Superman is a successful first movie to start the new DC Universe, but the question of whether it was more profitable than Man of Steel remains. Right from the start, James Gunn made it a point to debunk false rumors about the movie’s budget or how much the DCU’s first film had to make in order to break even.

After a solid run in theaters, particularly at the domestic box office, Superman has now been released on digital and arrived on HBO Max. With the movie now out on VOD and streaming, the live-action Superman movie will not see its box office climb much higher. As such, it is safe to compare its worldwide gross and profitability to Man of Steel‘s, with one winning.

How Much Superman Grossed And How Profitable It Was Explained

At the time of writing, Superman‘s worldwide box office total sits at $615.2 million (via The Numbers). Of that total sum, the biggest part of the movie’s performance comes from the domestic market, where Superman grossed $354 million. That sum is enough to make James Gunn’s Superman movie the 73rd highest-grossing movie domestically of all time. Internationally, that did not happen.

Sadly, Superman‘s international box office could not match the strong legs the film found domestically. Superman‘s international total sits at $262 million, $92 million below its domestic gross. Reportedly, the DC Universe’s first movie cost approximately $225 million to make. That budget does not account for marketing, only production expenses. Based on that, the film’s breakeven point can be calculated.

Usually, a movie needs to make 2x-2.5x times its budget to break even, and we can start talking about profitability. Based on Superman‘s budget, the DC film needed to enter the $450-562.2 million range to break even. With its global total of $615.2 million, Superman is firmly in that territory. With all the numbers laid out, its profitability has seemingly been revealed.

According to a recent report from Variety, James Gunn’s Superman movie is expected to boost Warner Bros. Discovery with $125 million in theatrical profits. DC is moving forward with a Superman sequel already, as Gunn is writing Man of Tomorrow. The film will shoot next year for a July 9, 2027, release, with the quick turnaround showing the studio’s confidence in the franchise.

How Much Man of Steel Grossed And How Profitable It Was Explained

Henry Cavill’s first and only solo movie as Superman stands as the one Gunn’s film is most compared to. Not only is it the latest Superman solo movie before David Corenswet’s 2025 film, but it also served a similar role in terms of franchise-building, as Man of Steel started the old DCEU in 2013, just like Superman does for the DCU’s movies.

When it comes to Man of Steel, the data can be interpreted in two different ways: Adjusted or unadjusted for inflation. If we go for the latter, Man of Steel grossed $670.1 million worldwide. That is more than Gunn’s Superman, which grossed $615.2 million. The sum is divided into $291 million domestically and $379.1 million at the international box office.

However, Man of Steel was not released in 2025 like Superman, but in 2013. As such, the theatrical and economic landscapes have changed a lot since then. This leads to the DCEU movie’s need to be adjusted for inflation to merit a fair comparison. That also means that its costs have to be adjusted.

Man of Steel‘s reported budget would go from $225 million, like Superman‘s, to a mighty $312 million. That said, its box office performance would also increase. In the domestic market, Man of Steel‘s adjusted for inflation total would be $419.1 million, marking an $128.1 million jump. When it comes to international numbers, it is harder to tell.

Each market has its own peculiarities, and box office data is not as widely reported as in the US. So, taking the same international performance not adjusted for inflation and adding that to the updated domestic numbers, Man of Steel‘s total would be $798.2 million. An estimated look at the full updated numbers by analyst Dan Murrell puts it at $868.2 million.

That said, those are the cold numbers, not deducting marketing expenses and the production costs, both of which have to be adjusted for inflation. According to a ᴅᴇᴀᴅline report from 2013, Man of Steel‘s box office performance led to $42.7 million in profit for Warner Bros.

Superman Was The Definitive Winner

Based on the reveal of how profitable the movies were and the fact that studios do not get to keep all the box office gross of their films, James Gunn’s Superman emerges as victorious in the comparison with Man of Steel. Yes, it is possible for the latter to lose even though its hard numbers are quite superior to Superman‘s.

At the end of the day, what matters to the studio is not the worldwide gross or the individual markets, but how much it will gain on a film after its budget, marketing, and other expenses are deducted from the total. With reports claiming Superman is looking at $125 million in theatrical profits against Man of Steel‘s $42.7 million, the former wins.

If we took analyst Dan Murrell’s view of the DC movies’ performances into account, Superman would still win over Man of Steel despite the latter being adjusted for inflation. In his analysis, Superman lost $77.7 million, while Man of Steel lost $89.2 million theatrically. However, the reports paint a more positive picture, in which Superman is also the victor.