It's been a few weeks since David Corenswet charmed audiences everywhere as the new Man of Steel in James Gunn's reboot of the popular comic book franchise. Superman took the story in a new, hopeful direction, which by and large has been resonating with audiences in search of an earnest hero. But what can its box office results teach us?Superman opened to $125 million domestically, which we'd consider a win in a time of superhero fatigue. But as The Hollywood Reporter points out, the international numbers were a bit lower than expected (at $95 million). Broadly, this could be expected for a quintessentially American hero appealing to American ideals, but the problem is compounded by a difficult political climate around the world. Gunn acknowledged the challenge in a recent Rolling Stone interview, noting the proliferation of "anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn't really helping us."While international numbers disappointed, Superman has already passed up the entire lifetime run of Marvel's Thunderbolts*, which topped out at $383 million globally earlier this year. As Dark Horizons reports, Superman's current domestic total of $331 million means it has beat out, if it matters to you, Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to become the highest-grossing Superman film ever made domestically. The film sits at a total gross of almost $579 million as of writing. Gunn was recently questioned on Threads about how he views the film's success. ...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday