James Gunn's Superman Scored The Best HBO Max Debut Since 2023's Biggest Movie

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

"Superman" soared in its debut on HBO Max. Director James Gunn's take on DC's famed superhero hit theaters over the summer and, though not as big a box office hit as Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" was in 2013, it was met with overwhelming positivity critically and helped set the new DC Universe up for success. Now, an even larger audience is catching up with the movie, now that it's readily available from the comfort of home.

According to Variety, "Superman" amassed 13 million views in its first ten days of availability on HBO Max. That makes it the streamer's biggest movie debut since "Barbie" arrived for subscribers in 2023. While the report didn't include the streaming figures for "Barbie," this is absolutely good company to be in. Greta Gerwig's take on Mattel's iconic doll made more than $1.4 billion at the box office, becoming the biggest hit of 2023 overall. Again, any associations with that movie's breakout success can only be good.

That said, "Superman" wasn't a $1 billion success story in theaters. The movie has, to date, made $615 million worldwide. Superhero movies have been struggling at the international box office, and they aren't regularly becoming the massive hits we had come to expect for so long. In any event, the HBO Max numbers suggest there is very strong interest from general viewers, even if not all of them felt this was a must-see cinematic event.

The film stars David Corenswet ("Twisters") as our new Clark Kent/Superman, with Rachel Brosnahan ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel") as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult ("Mad Max: Fury Road") as Lex Luthor. The large ensemble also includes Edi Gathegi (Mr. Terrific), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardner), Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), and Wendell Pierce (Perry White).

Aside from this being good for HBO Max, after recently changing its title back from just Max, it's a good omen for the DC Universe, which has only just gotten underway in the last year. Gunn, known best as the director of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, now serves as the co-head of DC Studios alongside producer Peter Safran. They have ambitious plans spanning movies, TV shows, animation, and even video games in the coming years. They needed this movie to help get things off on the right foot.

The movie did well enough at the box office to be certain, but the fact that it's growing its audience at home is going to help future projects within the new DCU. "Peacemaker" season 2 directly ties into "Superman." Audiences are currently enjoying both on HBO Max and starting to connect the dots with the larger universe. That's a good thing, even if Gunn designed these projects to be enjoyed independently, getting audiences invested in the larger universe is extremely helpful.

To that end, next year will see the release of the "Supergirl" movie starring Milly Alcock ("House of the Dragon"). Getting a brief taste of her take on the character in "Superman," even if that's in the realm of streaming, only serves to help that movie's prospects. Then there's the R-rated body/horror take on "Clayface," the famed Batman villain of the same name. That's a bigger swing, but one that could benefit from audiences buying what Gunn and Safran are selling more broadly.

With that all being the case, these big HBO Max numbers for Gunn's very well-received "Superman" movie can only be taken as a positive thing. Gunn is now busy working on "Man of Tomorrow," his follow-up that is set to hit theaters in 2027. The potential audience for that movie has grown in light of its predecessor's streaming success. Again, for the time being, this is all good news for DC.

You can also grab "Superman" on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD on Amazon.