James Gunn's Superman Movie Budget & Break-Even Point Revealed In New Report

As far as important movies go this year, it's hard to find one that is of greater importance than director James Gunn's "Superman." Not only is Gunn, now the co-head of DC Studios, trying to successfully relaunch the Man of Steel as a cinematic franchise, but he's also set to completely reboot the entire DC Universe in the coming years. That starts in earnest with this movie. It's also of grave importance to Warner Bros. as a whole. So, there's a lot riding it on. That being said, we now have some hard numbers to let us know just how much, in terms of dollars and cents, is riding on the film, as well as what it will take to make it a hit.

According to a new report from The Wrap, "Superman" carries a budget in the $225 million range. That is certainly on the expensive side of things for a blockbuster, but $200 million budgets are commonplace these days in the realm of superhero cinema. Still, that is a big number, which means it needs to make a lot of money at the box office. To that end, the report states that the film needs to gross around $700 million globally to be considered a success, per an anonymous Hollywood agent. The article further states anything north of north of $500 million worldwide will get into profits.

Generally speaking, theaters keep around half of all money from box office ticket sales. The old rule of thumb was to double the budget to account for marketing, but that rule is a little outdated in the age of $200 million blockbusters. So, let's assume the marketing budget is somewhere in the $100 to $150 million range. That means, coupled with the budget, WB's total investment would be around $350 million, give or take. Double that number to account for theaters getting their cut, and where does that leave us? Right in that $700 million range.

That being the case, that $500 million number seems a bit low. If "Superman" were to make that amount globally, it could probably get into profits after streaming, VOD, Blu-ray, etc. were factored in, though the report notes that the unnamed insider said the $500 million number was "not inclusive of ancillary revenues." I kindly doubt that as the math doesn't support it.

In any case, what "Superman" needs to do is become DC's biggest hit in years. The last DC movie to cross the $700 million threshold was "The Batman" ($772 million worldwide) in 2022. Before that? We have to go all the way back to 2018's "Aquaman," which made $1.15 billion in its day. In more recent years, DC has struggled to find success, with "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," "The Flash," and "Blue Beetle" all flopping in 2023. Then, in 2024, "Joker: Folie à Deux" bombed badly, losing between $150 and $200 million for WB. So, yeah, the pressure is on.

The good news is that Gunn has an impeccable track record, having directed the "Guardians of the Galaxy" film trilogy for Marvel, as well as "The Suicide Squad," which was met with great reviews but was hampered at the box office by the pandemic. In terms of the Superman franchise, Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" made $668 million worldwide in 2013 against a reported $225 million budget. Oddly enough, the bar for success is right in that same range 12 years later.

Among those starring in "Superman" are David Corenswet ("Pearl") as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan ("House of Cards") as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult ("Mad Max: Fury Road") as Lex Luthor. Gunn wrote the screenplay in addition to directing.

"Superman" hits theaters on July 11, 2025.