Superman has arrived and the early indications in North America are good as the reboot, a DC Studios test case for the reconstituted studio’s first release, scored a solid $122m launch through Warner Bros on more than 10,000 screens in 4,135 locations.
The latest entry in a long-running series of adaptations delivered Warner Bros’ second debut of over $100m this year after A Minecraft Movie on $162.8m; the third best opening of 2025 so far behind the aforementioned and Lilo & Stitch on $146m; the second best opening for a Superman film behind Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice on $166m in 2016; the best debut by a solo Superman film ahead of $116.6m by 2013’s Man Of Steel; and director James Gunn’s second-best career opening after Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 on $146.5m in 2017.
Riding high on strong reviews and an excellent A- CinemaScore for a comic book adaptation, Superman delivered Warner Bros’ sixth number one release of 2025 so far and earned approximately 47% of its gross through Imax and premium large formats. Some 419 Imax screens generated $19.1m in North America, overindexing on 15.6% of the film’s overall gross for what Imax said is the biggest Imax indexing on a film to open on more than $100m.
Warner Bros executives said on Sunday morning that Caucasian audiences comprised 51% of the crowd, followed by 22% Hispanic, 14% African-American, and 8% Asian, and 5% Native-American/Other.
David Corenswet stars as Superman/Clark Kent, alongside Rachel Brosnahan as love interest Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as the villainous Lex Luthor, and the hero’s sidekick Krypto The Superdog.
Besides directing, Gunn is also co-head of DC Studios with Peter Safran and they and their colleagues at Warner Bros will know the significance of a strong kick-off to launch the studio’s first wave of films and TV series, which includes the features Supergirl in June 2026 and Clayface, which is currently dated for September 2026 and is in pre-production.
After years of mediocre box office and some hits, the goal at DC Studios is to build momentum and the sense of must-see around its releases, much in the way arch-rival Marvel Studios has done. A glut of film and television offerings has led to superhero fatigue among audiences – DC’s Aquaman and Shazam sequels in particular disappointed in 2023 – and the goal at both studios is to assemble pipelines comprised of fewer, better films. Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives on July 25.
In its second weekend Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth dropped to number two as expected and soared past $200m after an estimated $40m in 4,324 cinemas to boost the running total to $232.1m. By the same stage, franchise record holder Jurassic World from 2015 stood at $402.8m.
Ranking third is Apple Original Films’ F1 distributed through Warner Bros. Joseph Kosinski’s motor racing drama starring Brad Pitt, Kerry Condon and Damson Idris added $13m in its third session for a $136.2m tally.
DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon in fourth place has reached $239.8m after five weekends and ranks fourth following $7.8m from 3,285 over three days and is comfortably the highest-grossing entry in a four-film franchise that launched in 2010.
Pixar’s Elio ranks fifth in its fourth weekend and grossed $3.9m from 2,730 locations for a $63.7m running total. This is one of the less illustrious box office runs for a brand that was somewhat tarnished during the pandemic, when then Disney CEO Bob Chapek elected to send Pixar titles Turning Red, Luca and Soul straight to Disney+, teaching audiences to forgo the theatrical experience and wait for the platform drop. These days, only the surefire Pixar titles prosper, like last year’s $1.7bn global smash Inside Out 2.
The live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch however has been a huge success for Disney and is inching doggedly towards the $1bn global mark. In North America it grossed $2.7m from 2,075 in its eighth session to reach $414.6m and rank sixth. This is the second biggest release in North America for the year to date and proves as How To Train Your Dragon has done, that revisiting recent animation properties that play on the nostalgia of younger Millennials and Gen Z parents can reap rewards.
In its fourth session, Columbia Pictures’ survival horror 28 Years Later directed by Danny Boyle and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes took $2.7m in its fourth weekend as the running total climbed to $65.7m.
Universal/Blumhouses’s horror sequel M3GHAN 2.0 in ninth place added $1.4m from 1,658 for $22.4m in its third session.
From A24, Celine Song’s love triangle Materialists brought in a further $720,498 from 589 screens to reach $35.2m after five sessions – well above expectations for Song’s acclaimed follow-up to her Oscar-nominated Past Lives.
In its second weekend, Eva Victor’s Cannes and Sundance selection Sorry, Baby earned $230,328 from 40 for an early $599,575 running total.
Neon reported its 2024 TIFF People’s Choice Award winner The Life Of Chuck stands at $6.4m after six weekends.
Another 2024 fall festival selection was in action as Sony Pictures Classics opened the drama Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight on $35,422 from four screens. Embeth Davidtz’s directing debut screened at Telluride and Toronto and is based on by Alexandra Fuller’s memoir growing up in the former Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) on her family farm in the late 1970s.
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