'Superman' Box Office Disappoints In First Weekend After Director James Gunn's 'Immigrant' Remarks
DC Studios and Warner Bros are still trying to take a victory lap on 'Superman'
The release of "Superman" should have been an easy box office win for Warner Bros. Studios and DC Comics. But inexplicably, the film's director, James Gunn, out of nowhere, decided to make a political statement about the character and the film.
Gunn described Superman as an "immigrant," and that the story reflected that society has lost "human kindness."
Presumably, Gunn made those remarks out of a desire to criticize the Trump administration for making enforcing immigration laws a top priority. But in doing so, he unnecessarily politicized a film that wasn't inherently political. And opened up his actors to making remarkably hypocritical remarks.
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The film opened in theaters over the weekend, with big box office expectations. It is a reboot of the DC Comics cinematic universe – Gunn's debut at Warner Bros. after years with Marvel – and one of the country's most popular characters. And sure enough, opening weekend revenues came in below pre-release tracking.

Opening weekend revenue from James Gunn's "Superman" reboot came in under box office expectations. (Getty Images)
‘Superman’ Doesn't Reach Previous Box Office Forecasts
Ahead of the film's release, box office tracking websites like Box Office Theory projected "Superman" to gross roughly $135 million in its opening weekend. Some estimates reached as high as $150 million.
The actual opening weekend estimate: $122 million.
Nowhere close to a disaster or a Disney, "Snow White" level flop. But certainly at either the low end or significantly below pre-release tracking. What makes it worse: "Man of Steel," a film with much less hype, promotion, and the divisive Zack Snyder as director, made $170 million in its opening weekend, after adjusting for 2025 inflation.
The estimated production budget for "Superman" is $225 million, with at least $200 million estimated in additional marketing. That generally means break-even box office would be roughly $850 million worldwide. With $217 million globally in the first weekend, and one-third of the total box office usually coming in the first weekend, it's on track to fall well short of forecasts.
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And again, "Man of Steel" made $670 million worldwide in 2013, which is $921 million in today's dollars.
DC Comics, Warner Bros., and Gunn are so desperate they're still taking victory laps on Sunday, but all the posturing in the world doesn't hide the fact that this weekend's gross is underwhelming, at best.
Is the poor result a function of conservative moviegoers staying home after Gunn's remarks? Who knows? And even if there was only a minimal backlash or impact, why lose any revenue with an unnecessary political statement? If "Superman" lost out on even as little as $3 million to $5 million in box office revenue, was it really worth it?
Apparently, Hollywood is willing to find out.