JAMES Gunn’s reboot of the DC Universe, “Superman” (2025), has officially broken the US$600 million barrier at the global box office, marking the first superhero film this year to achieve this milestone.
As of August 24, the film has amassed approximately US$605.8 million worldwide — US$347.8 million from the domestic market and US$258 million from international territories.
Meanwhile, the motorsport drama “F1”, directed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Brad Pitt, has similarly surpassed the US$600 million mark, underlining its global appeal.
Its total stands at around US$605.9 million, with roughly US$186 million earned domestically and US$419.6 million internationally.
The broader performance of superhero films in 2025 has been relatively modest.
“Thunderbolts” managed to gross US$382.4 million against a production budget of US$180 million, while “Captain America: Brave New World” performed slightly better, taking in US$415.1 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, “Fantastic Four: First Steps” has fared the strongest of the three, earning US$490.1 million by the end of its fifth weekend.
Although this figure marks a respectable return, it still falls short of the billion-dollar success achieved by earlier Marvel entries such as “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
“Superman”, by comparison, has outperformed its superhero peers — not just crossing the US$600 million line, but also garnering acclaim for revitalising interest in the Man of Steel across streaming platforms.
Viewership for Christopher Reeve’s classic increased by 332 per cent, Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel rose by 218 per cent, and the documentary Super/ Man: The Christopher Reeve Story spiked by an astonishing 1,206 per cent.
Its opening weekend of US$217 million (US$122 million domestically, US$95 million internationally) marked the biggest opening ever for a solo Superman film.
Despite the absence of a broad box office phenomenon like Barbenheimer, which unified audiences and sparked repeat viewings, 2025 remains encouraging for original content.
It ended the summer with just under US$3.6 billion domestically, ahead of prior postpandemic years.
