A winner in the battle between Superman and Man of Steel may have been settled, at least in terms of which one was a more profitable film for the studio. Superman was one of the biggest hits of the summer movie season, opening to $125 million and positive word of mouth carrying the movie over the following weeks. Even though Superman beat Man of Steel at the domestic box office, Man of Steel has the advantage worldwide. Some have used that point to paint Superman as a box office disappointment, despite it getting a sequel in the form of Man of Tomorrow, set for release on July 9, 2027.
According to Variety, Superman has generated $125 million in profit for Warner Bros. The report doesn’t specify whether this figure is solely based on box office revenue or includes profits from tie-in deals; additionally, Warner Bros. hasn’t released any official numbers. However, Superman was more profitable than Man of Steel, as a 2013 Deadline piece noted that the Zack Snyder-directed film made a profit of $42.7 million. This gives Superman an $82.3 million lead over Man of Steel.
How Did ‘Superman’ Make More Than ‘Man of Steel’?
As of this writing, Superman has grossed $353.3 million domestically and $614.1 million worldwide. Man of Steel grossed $291 million domestically in 2013 and earned an impressive $670 million worldwide. Both Superman and Man of Steel had a reported budget of $225 million, but in 2013, Deadline had it pegged that Man of Steel actually cost $258 million plus an added $58 million that participants like Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Charles Roven, and Jon Peters made on the project.
Those additional funds for Man of Steel might be how Superman has generated a larger profit. It was reported that the highest-paid actor for Superman was Nicholas Hoult, who made $2 million. Stars David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan made $750,000. All three actors are eligible for performance-based bonuses, and judging by the box office, they’ll presumably be getting paid more.
Yet it’s the critical and audience reaction that shows Warner Bros. is feeling more confident after Superman than they did with Man of Steel. Following Man of Steel, the studio scrapped the direct sequel and instead pivoted quickly to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Man of Tomorrow looks to be delivering more of what audiences loved about Superman, even if James Gunn doesn’t call it a sequel in the traditional sense. Where the conversation after Man of Steel centered on the film’s bleak tone and the controversial moment when Superman snapped Zod’s neck, Superman has been warmly received by the general audience. All in all, this feels like the first time the hero has truly held the public’s admiration since 1978’s Superman: The Movie.
