Superman had an impressive opening weekend, but it was unable to surpᴀss that of two DC movies starring the Man of Steel. James Gunn had the task of setting up multiple characters in Superman while also keeping the focus on David Corenswet’s Clark Kent. The movie succeeded, with Superman‘s DC connections and vibrant story making for the perfect DCU opener.

Superman‘s opening weekend landed on the $125 million mark domestically (via Box Office Mojo). That is good for the movie, as Superman‘s global numbers currently put it at $232.9 million at the time of writing. With a production budget of $225 million, the film has already flown past it. However, DC’s latest movie did not surpᴀss two Superman entries from the DCEU.

Superman Had A Fantastic Opening Weekend… But Not A Record-Breaking One

The DCEU Still Has The Best Opening Weekends For Superman

While Superman‘s domestic opening weekend was solid, it did not break records for DC. The Superman movie’s ending makes major changes for a sequel that could perform even better, but as it stands, Henry Cavill’s version of Superman is still leading the franchise when it comes to the box office.

Cavill starred in two Superman movies — a solo and a team-up. While James Gunn’s Superman movie outgrossed Cavill’s DC debut, 2013’s Man of Steel, which opened to $116 million, the numbers change when adjusted for inflation.

Taking that into account, the Zack Snyder DC movie had the bigger opening of the two, flying into theaters with a domestic haul of $162.2 million. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is still the leader.

The team-up movie outgrosses Gunn’s Superman both unadjusted and adjusted for inflation. When taking the latter into account, the difference is even more noticeable, as the DCEU film opened at $217 million, close to Superman‘s global opening weekend of $220 million. While Cavill’s Superman movies outgrossed Corenswet’s opening-wise, the DCU’s first film has the best reviews out of them.

Superman Faced A Bigger Challenge Than Man Of Steel

The DC Universe Has To Deal With A Lot Of Baggage

Henry Cavill’s two Superman movies might have had bigger domestic opening weekends than David Corenswet’s Superman, but it is only really fair to compare the new DC movie to one of Cavill’s entries. After all, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a two-hander that starred DC’s two biggest characters, with Wonder Woman also having a decent role in it.

Man of Steel and Superman are perfect for comparison, as both movies were the first in their respective cinematic universes. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel did not have as big a challenge as James Gunn’s Superman. At the time, Snyder only had to beat Superman Returns, which was lackluster. Gunn’s Superman has to deal with the DCEU’s baggage.

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Over the past decade, many DC movies have debuted to poor box office or divisive reception. Superman has to battle that to turn the franchise around while also dealing with superhero fatigue, as even MCU movies, which used to be sure bets, are now underperforming left and right. As such, it makes sense that Superman would open lower than Cavill’s movies.