James Gunn has a new Superman movie out—perhaps you’ve heard of it? The DC hero’s latest cinematic adventure, the first under DC Studios’ Gunn-led era, is a box-office hit and already has fans dreaming of sequels and spin-offs. But one notable quirk of those ticket sales is that Superman is doing better domestically than it is internationally, despite its seemingly broad appeal as a Hollywood superhero movie.
Earlier this week, Variety reported that while Superman‘s numbers are impressive, earning over $400 million to date, “turnout remains softer than expected at the international box office.” The trade noted Warner Bros. and DC are counting on “outsized global appeal” to launch this new era of DC media. Naturally, Gunn himself is at the nexus of all this, and he was asked about it in a recent Rolling Stone interview.
“We’re definitely performing better domestically than we are internationally, but internationally is also rising and having really good weekday numbers in the same way we are. So obviously the word of mouth is very positive both here and everywhere else. Which is the thing that we needed to do the most. At the same time, there are certain countries in which it’s really performing well. Brazil and the U.K.,” Gunn told the magazine.
And, what’s more, he has some thoughts about why audiences overseas might not be rushing out to see his movie at the moment.
“Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a big known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things. And 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,” Gunn said. “So I think it’s just a matter of letting something grow. But again, for us, everything’s been a total win. Having the movie come out and be something that has been embraced by people everywhere—this is just the seed of the tree that Peter [Safran, co-head of DC Studios] and I have been watering for the past three years. So to be able to have it start off so positively has been incredibly overwhelming.”
American pop culture being overshadowed by American politics—that sounds about right given the current climate of things. Perhaps the tide will have turned ahead of Supergirl‘s release in June 2026?