Superman has officially ended its domestic theatrical run with a worldwide box office gross of $615,784,465. That’s a lot of money, but is it enough to make a profit for Warner Bros.?
Superman didn’t come cheap. The film reportedly cost $225 million to produce, with an additional $125 million invested in global marketing — a total budget of $350 million. According to Forbes, once you factor in that ticket sales are typically split 50/50 with theaters, the movie’s theatrical net lands around $308 million, putting it just under the break-even point for Warner Bros. However, the report notes that the $308 million doesn’t take other miscellaneous expenses into account, so the net is likely less.
Additionally, the 50/50 split with exhibitors isn’t necessarily the standard agreement between every studio and theater chain. The formula can vary greatly, with a sliding scale of percentages. The studio can take a greater percentage in the early weeks, with the theaters share increasing the longer the film plays.
So, Superman probably didn’t turn a profit at the box office, but I’d bet it’ll end up in the black once all the ancillary revenue — VOD, streaming, merchandising, and more — is factored in.
The new DC Universe is moving full steam ahead, with plenty of projects on the horizon. The season two finale of Peacemaker will debut on HBO Max tomorrow and is expected to set the stage for the recently announced Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow. The film is slated for a July 9, 2027 release, and James Gunn has already teased a few story details. “It’s a story about Lex Luthor and Superman having to work together to a certain degree against a much, much bigger threat,” he said on the Howard Stern Show. “It’s more complicated than that but. It’s as much a Lex movie as it is a Superman movie. I relate to the character of Lex, sadly. I really wanted to create something extraordinary with the two of them. I just love the script so much.“
The next DCU project to be released in theaters will be Supergirl, which stars Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Kara Zor-El, alongside Eve Ridley (3 Body Problem) as Ruthye, Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone) as Krem of the Yellow Hill, David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer) as Zor-El, Emily Beecham (1899) as Alura, and Jason Momoa as Lobo, a role he has longed to play for years. The film will hit theaters on June 26, 2026.
