The Man of Steel made a triumphant return to the big screen last July, sporting a vibrant suit and a wide grin, but as the box office numbers came in, that smile began to seem somewhat insincere.
RELATED: New Study States ‘Superman’ Generated a Minor Profit for Warner Bros., Even Though It Didn’t Reach Break-Even at the Box Office
Honestly, I hoped this would mark a genuine revival for the genre; many others did too. We all longed for that traditional hero to step in and rescue the situation after years of complicated movie universe development, but if you examine the factual, straightforward numbers from Puck News (viaCosmic Book News, it’s a tough reality check.
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Matthew Belloni over there isn’t holding back, describing James Gunn’s Superman as “decent but not particularly impressive,” which is industry jargon for “it didn’t meet expectations.” Everyone was building this up as the reboot of the decade, but when you check the real numbers onBox Office Mojo, a $616.8 million worldwide total simply doesn’t indicate “cultural phenomenon.”
The local audience contributed with a $354 million collection, but when looking at international markets, things started to fall apart. It’s the familiar tale where overseas viewers weren’t interested in what was being offered. Therefore,Superman generated a gentle $262M.
It seems as though the “earnest” and “bright” tone they emphasized so much failed to resonate with global fans who were raised on the more grand, mythic style of the earlier period. Even domestically, the Max streaming figures are being presented as a success with 13 million views in ten days, but when you look deeper into it,the Samba TV data, it’s not really breaking any records.
RELATED: New Study Shows James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Suffered Financial Losses, As Expected by Many
It’s just… okay – and “okay” is a frightening place to be when you’ve invested $225 million in the film and another $125 million convincing everyone to watch it.
This raises a significant uncertainty aboutSupergirl. If the Man of Steel, with all his history and a major summer release, can’t even reach $650 million, what does that say about B-tier characters? The financial equation for a $200 million Supergirl film is a precarious balancing act.
If they are unable to attract international audiences back to cinemas, these budgets will begin to appear as a significant risk for the studio. For those hoping for positive outcomes, you must examine the facts: the “foundational” film of this new universe simply lacked the impressive impact we were expecting.
But at least no squirrels were injured during the production of this movie, right?
NEXT: Actor Jack O’Halloran from ‘Superman II’ States That Utilizing the Man of Steel “Properly” Involves Advocating “The American Way of Life”
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