James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Soars With $217M Opening, Breathing New Life Into Struggling DC Studios

The latest iteration of the comic book film franchise “Superman” made a splash at the box office this weekend, giving Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) a reason to cheer.

According to Box Office Mojo, “Superman” collected $122 million in ticket sales domestically over the weekend, relegating Paramount-owned Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth” to the second spot. The latter’s box office numbers dropped nearly 27% week-over-week to $40 million from $92.02 million in its opening weekend (July 4-6).

The third-ranked “F1: The Movie” fetched $13 million in ticket sales for its third weekend, tapering off from $57 million for its opening weekend (June 27-29) and $25.78 million for the July 4-6 weekend.

“F1: The Movie” is an Apple (AAPL) original, and Warner Bros distributed it along with Apple.

Warner Bros. Discovery stock has gained about 11% year-to-date. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock was 'extremely bullish' (71/100) by late Sunday, while the message volume was at a 'normal' level.

Superman’s international performance was more muted, with the film fetching $95 million from 79 markets overseas. The combined receipts worldwide are an estimated $217 million. 

The success of “Superman”, directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet in the lead role, is a redemption of sorts for DC Studios, which has been struggling in recent years. The film marked the first in the DC Universe, and it is the second reboot of the Superman film series. 

Hollywood Reporter said Superman stemmed the “superhero” rot that has plagued the domestic market, becoming the first movie in a year to cross ticket sales of $100 million.  The previous best was Marvel Studios and Ryan Reynolds’ “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which took in a whopping $211 million in ticket sales in the summer of 2024.

Meanwhile, “Jurassic World Rebirth” has to date collected $232.11 million domestically and $297.35 million internationally, giving it $529.46 million in total box office numbers.

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