Why Superhero Movies Are Struggling At The International Box Office

The landscape of the box office has changed greatly in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic forced permanent change upon the industry, with Hollywood focusing more on streaming and theaters increasingly fighting to stay relevant. While that applies to all movies, there is an increased focus on declines when it comes to superhero movies. These blockbusters were the backbone of the box office for over a decade. Now? They're on the descent, and a big part of that has to do with sharp drop-offs when it comes to international ticket sales.

Take "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" as an example. In its most recent weekend, its fourth overall, it barely cracked the global top 10, pulling in $18.1 million, including $9.3 million overseas and $8.8 million domestically. It has now earned $468 million worldwide, with only 47% of that money coming from markets outside of the U.S. That runs in stark contrast to the pre-pandemic days. That overseas drop-off, among other reasons, means "Fantastic Four" should raise alarm bells for the brass at Marvel Studios.

Take even a relatively modest hit (by Marvel standards) in 2011's "Thor," which made $449 million worldwide. About 60% of that money, or $268 million, came from overseas. We're seeing that happen less and less, which is a problem for just about everyone trying to make a superhero movie for the big screen right now.

None of Marvel's 2025 releases have cracked $500 million worldwide, and "Superman" will finish as the year's biggest superhero movie with just over $600 million when all's said and done. Director James Gunn's take on the Man of Steel recently made its debut on VOD just over a month after it first hit theaters, meaning its run is coming to a close. As of this writing, "Superman" has made about 57% of its money in North America, meaning about 43% of it has come from elsewhere around the world.

By contrast, "Man of Steel" made $668 million worldwide in 2013, with close to 57% of that money coming internationally. It was almost the exact inverse of what we're seeing now. Things are changing, that much is certain.

"He is not a big known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things," Gunn said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, attempting to explain why "Superman" isn't performing as well overseas. "It also affects things that we have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn't really helping us."

Whether that's true or not, the numbers don't lie. But why is this happening? Why aren't superheroes resonating with global audiences like they used to? As always, when examining something this complex, the answer isn't simple, but there are reasons for the change.

One reason is the perceived quality. Marvel's Multiverse Saga has not delivered as many out-and-out crowd pleasers as the pre-pandemic years. This has led to some level of fatigue, and that fatigue knows no borders. Adjacent to that, though, is Marvel's sheer volume of output, which includes many live-action Disney+ shows. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige even blamed the Disney+ of it all for "Thunderbolts*" ($382 million worldwide) disappointing at the box office.

Internationally, Disney+ wasn't available in every country at launch, and shows like "Hawkeye" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" were viewed as homework for movies such as "Captain America: Brave New World" and "Thunderbolts*." That was a barrier to entry. As easy as it was for people in the U.S. to give up on that homework, it was just as easy — if not easier — for others around the world to do the same. Admittedly, for the moment, that is more of a Marvel issue.

DC has faced issues with confused branding, as the former DCEU never really gelled in the way Warner Bros. wanted it to. That's why James Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the DC Universe, beginning largely with "Superman." But that new DCU must contend with the realities of the global theatrical marketplace as they exist.

The bigger issue is that the marketplace has shrunk considerably since 2019, when it seemed like superheroes were unstoppable. A recent report suggests that the box office won't hit pre-pandemic levels again until 2030 at the earliest. That impacts everything, superheroes included. Just looking at this past weekend, "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle" made $31.3 million with no domestic footprint. Other international titles like "War 2" and "Coolie" were also in the top 10. Increasingly, titles not hailing from Hollywood are taking up more space.

China is focused far more on homegrown hits rather than Hollywood releases these days. "Ne Zha 2" made $2.2 billion with almost all of that money coming from China. Hollywood can no longer depend on one of the biggest markets in the world as a result. The war between Russia and Ukraine has also had consequences on the box office, with revenue falling in both countries. That's admittedly not top of anyone's mind — rightfully so — when it comes to a war, but it's true all the same.

That's not to say the hits don't come because they absolutely do. "Deadpool & Wolverine" made $1.33 billion in 2024, with more than 52% of that money coming from overseas. But even that was a decline from "Deadpool 2," which made $786 million worldwide with just shy of 59% of that money coming internationally. 5% here or there makes an enormous difference when we're talking about millions of dollars. It gets even more important when we look at something like "Captain Marvel" making $1.1 billion, with more than 62% of those ticket sales generated overseas.

This is something both Marvel Studios and DC Studios need to accept in planning the future. Do $200 million budgets make sense when $600 million is the ceiling for the average superhero movie? When over/under $400 million is closer to the average on a good day? Not everything can be an "Avengers" level event. For the time being, the reality is that once-robust overseas grosses are no longer a given.