‘Superman’ Takes Out Clint Eastwood’s 71% Biggest Hit at the Global Box Office

Having completed three full weeks of release in theaters worldwide, Superman recently passed the $300 million mark domestically, which puts it ahead of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. Directed by James Gunn, Superman serves as the first film in the newly-launched DC Universe, which succeeds the divisive DC Extended Universe founded by Snyder over a decade ago. The new movie debuted to excellent reviews, and has been largely successful, with some even suggesting that it puts the DCU in a better position than its rival Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is experiencing major difficulties.

With over $315 million domestically and another $225 million from overseas markets, Superman has grossed a total of $551 million worldwide. Produced on a reported budget of $225 million, the movie will fall short of Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, although it has long since overtaken the filmmaker’s previous DC project, The Suicide Squad. That film was released during the pandemic, and had its theatrical run kneecapped by the studio’s controversial decision to release it day-and-date on the HBO Max streaming service. And now, Gunn finds himself spearheading Peacemaker, a spin-off series based on The Suicide Squad, in addition to running DC Studios along with his producing partner Peter Safran.

Superman’s $ million worldwide haul puts it ahead of W.B.’s massively successful war drama American Sniper. It’s the highest-grossing film of Clint Eastwood’s storied career, and one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time. Starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller, American Sniper was based on the life of the late soldier Chris Kyle. The film proved to be politically divisive, although it was a breakout hit among the Red State audiences, and hugely popular at the Oscars.

‘Superman’ Is Soaring Towards an Early Digital Debut

Superman has also overtaken the lifetime global hauls of fellow superhero titles such as X-Men: Apocalypse, Ant-Man, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Next up ahead of it is the first Iron Man, Logan, and Iron Man 2. Superman needs to gross over $670 million worldwide in order to beat Man of Steel, which should be its next goal. However, anything under the $700 million mark might be seen as an underperformance in the long run. Starring David Corenswet, the movie is playing in theaters, and will be released on home video on August 15. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.