As it stands, Superman looks set to make one major $3 billion milestone a reality unless its box office somehow fully dies only one week in. The release of the DCU’s Superman has been exciting for a range of reasons, including both the film’s story itself, and the anticipation of seeing where the movie’s box office lands amongst its peers.

Superman’s live-action movie history includes some considerable hits – with his debut in the DCEU timeline being one of the most notable examples of this – which naturally means conversations about its box office tend to lean into this comparative direction. However, Superman‘s box office is also already encroaching on hitting a huge $3 billion movie milestone that’s easier to miss.

Superman’s Box Office History Has Been Consistently Solid

Man of Steel Grossed $667 Million At The Worldwide Box Office

It’s fair to say that the Man of Steel’s movie catalog isn’t all universally-adored wins, even if the hero himself has remained one of the most important figures in the superhero genre throughout the decades. That said, Superman’s box office roster is a largely successful one, with the character relatively consistently garnering film successes.

With a reported $55 million budget, the 1978 Superman‘s $300 million worldwide box office (via The Numbers) is a notably healthy one. This is still true to a lesser extent for Superman II‘s $54 million budget and $190 million results, which further demonstrated the long-term potential for the hero back in 1980.

Though Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace are some of Superman’s more infamous film fare, even they didn’t do as staggeringly badly financially as it might initially seem. Superman III‘s $80 million result is over twice its reported budget, and the same is true for Superman IV, as its lower budget helps its $36 million results.

However, it’s the modern day that holds the biggest box office hits for the hero – a concept that isn’t all that surprising given inflation. While Superman Returns‘ $391 million budget doesn’t compare all that well to its reported $232 million budget, both Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice paint a different picture.

Man of Steel managed to bring in a $667 million worldwide box office result, with cinemagoers flocking to see the first DCEU movie. Batman V Superman was able to add the Dark Knight to the mix for a whopping $874 million box office, with this overarching cinematic history seemingly reinforcing the idea DCU’s Superman will hit one notable milestone.

Superman’s Box Office Results Are Set To Take Its Director’s Record To New Heights

Gunn Is Nearing The $3 Billion Milestone In His Directing Career

Currently, Superman‘s recorded box office sits at $250-261 million (as per Variety and The Numbers/Box Office Mojo). This is interesting not only because the DCU movie is very much still being actively seen in the cinema – meaning this number is set to grow over time – but also because of what it means for the film’s director.

Over the course of his career, James Gunn has directed several films, with the Guardians of the Galaxy MCU trilogy being his most financially successful thus far. Thanks to the $2.4 billion results of the Guardians trilogy, the overall box office of Gunn’s collected directorial credits sits at $2.96 billion (via The Numbers), including the current box office for Superman.

As such, if Superman is able to net itself another $40 million, the overall box office of the movies James Gunn has directed will reach the $3 billion mark, which is a pretty major number to reach, and a nice bonus achievement for the 2025 film. This also ties Gunn’s MCU & DC releases together in a nice way, since they both play important roles in this result.

With Superman‘s official release date now being only a week ago, it seems very much possible for the movie to reach this mark. While there will be other metrics that take a focus when it comes to Superman‘s box office, the way in which the 2025 film’s results affect Gunn’s overarching results as a director are undeniably interesting to note.

Superman’s Results Already Bode Well For The DCU

The Initial Picture Is A Promising One

A movie netting a quarter of a million in a week certainly doesn’t seem to be a bad sign for the prospective franchise that is set to form from it. Even if other films have no doubt seen more tremendous short-term success in history, Superman has already garnered itself the sixth place in the hero’s live-action movie catalog box office-wise in one week, and is already closing in on higher spots.

Pushing Gunn’s directorial catalog into the $3 billion mark would also be a nice sign, if only because it reinforces the history the DCU architect has with the movie world. The Guardians trilogy’s success over the years certainly suggested that the creator could work as a central figure behind the DC reboot, and these numbers only further cement that idea.

Though only time will tell what final number Superman ends up at in box office terms, it certainly seems the initial picture is a promising one, and one that could see Superman garner far more overall in the long term. Whatever happens on this side of things, though, the film obtaining the $3 billion result for Gunn’s overall directorial box office seems very much achievable.