New Report Claims ‘Superman’ Made Warner Bros. A Small Profit, Despite Not Breaking Even In Theaters
Superman’s profitability has been in question since the receipts started coming in. A new report shows the film by James Gunn may not be the bomb some are saying it is, but it still falls short of expectations.
According to Forbes, Superman made $100 million in profit for Warner Bros. and is on the way to making them $150M. At a glance, that’s good; however, the math is more complicated than it looks.
First of all, the money the blockbuster is picking up comes from avenues besides theaters, such as licensing, merchandise, home rentals, and streaming. Theatrically, despite all the hype and marketing, the film can be (and has been) looked at as a bit of a bust.
The studio shares profits 50-50 with theaters (note: that’s not a bulletproof metric, though heavily relied upon), meaning Superman’s reported $616M haul was split. Dan Murrell, a YouTuber following the film’s performance, estimates it lost $77M. Variety was more merciful in its report where the outlet said Superman needed only $42M to break even.
The rising tide of Warner Bros. Discover’s Q3 earnings also buoy the summer release’s image. James Gunn’s halcyon DCU effort shared the season with F1, Weapons, and Conjuring: Last Rites, which were all huge hits that broke a few records. The problem is they might only be making Superman look good by association.
The film spent a short time in theaters before going to VOD. Gunn explained this was due to the release of Peacemaker Season 2, but The Man of Steel couldn’t shield the Max Original from underperforming and dropping off, much less itself. Per Cosmic Book News, Superman soon fell behind Black Adam on the streaming charts and petered out soon after landing on streaming.
Whether or not it was a moneymaker also depends on its true budget. The official budget reported by Variety and other trades is $225M plus marketing costs of $125M that bring the movie’s total price tag to $350M. This number is disputed by Cosmic Book who place the real cost in excess of $500M after global marketing is factored.
Looking at that, if accurate, Superman lost money theatrically, at least, even if it recoups its budget elsewhere. Moreover, it still trails behind Man of Steel in ticket sales adjusted for inflation and present-day prices, and additionally, the July tentpole didn’t boost attendance at AMC Theaters over the summer either.
NEXT: Report Claims ‘Superman’ Was More Profitable Than ‘Man of Steel’, But Not Everyone Is Buying It
