Is ‘Superman’ a Bigger Success Than ‘Man of Steel’?

Superman has been a box office hit, though some fans don’t want it to be. Despite earning $343 million domestically and $600 million worldwide at the time of writing, some fans consider Superman a disappointment because it fell short of the divisive Man of Steel‘s 2013 box office total. Even though Superman has bypassed Man of Steel‘s $291 million domestic gross, Man of Steel‘s worldwide gross total of $670 million gives it a slight edge. Then, adjusting for inflation, Man of Steel certainly made more money on paper. Man of Steel was seen as a disappointment back in 2013, so the logic stands that Superman should also be a disappointment.

Well, not entirely. Superman and Man of Steel both center on the same character, but they were released at different times and had different expectations placed upon them. While Man of Steel will likely come out on top at the box office, Superman is still the bigger hit in terms of audience reaction. While box office success is a significant factor for a movie, it isn’t the only one. That $70 million gap isn’t as drastic as some might think. However, the reaction to Superman compared to Man of Steel is noteworthy, and like Batman Begins before it, Superman is an investment that will pay off.

Great Expectations for Both ‘Superman’ and ‘Man of Steel’

Warner Bros.

Both Superman and Man of Steel had great expectations placed upon them, fitting given the protagonist’s super strength. Both movies were reintroductions of the classic comic book hero that also needed to be the launching point for a cinematic universe. Yet the 12-year gap between Man of Steel and Superman reflects two very different times in the superhero genre, and for better or worse, impacted how they were seen.

Man of Steel opened one year after both The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The studio believed Man of Steel would achieve Dark Knight-level success, considering Superman’s global fame and the involvement of Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. The studio wanted it to hit a billion dollars. When it didn’t, it was seen as a disappointment.

Now that isn’t fair to Man of Steel. After all, $670 million is nothing to sneeze at, and being the ninth highest-grossing film of the year worldwide should be a good thing. Yet Warner Bros. placed a lot of expectations on Man of Steel‘s shoulders coming off both The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises (they were at least relieved it wasn’t another Green Lantern).

Superman, on the other hand, came out following a string of flops based on DC Comics. The last DC movie to be a box office success was 2022’s The Batman. While that was only three years ago, in that time Warner Bros. also released DC League of Super-Pets, Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Joker: Folie à Deux. Seven films based on DC movies either disappointed or outright flopped at the box office. It seemed like the DC brand was becoming box office poison. Yet Superman’s success shows that the brand still has some power. Warner Bros. and James Gunn seemed to set their expectations for Superman to that of Iron Man. Iron Man grossed $585 million worldwide back in 2008, with Superman having just surpassed it. Things certainly turned out well for Iron Man, and the same might hold true for Superman and the DCU.

‘Superman’ Has Better Word of Mouth Than ‘Man of Steel’

Still from Superman with David Corenswet smiling in a chair

The biggest difference between Superman and Man of Steel is the word of mouth. Critically, Superman was much better received with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%, while Man of Steel has a 57% rating. That means over 50% of critics liked Man of Steel, so it is above average. However, word of mouth on the two projects has been drastically different.

Following the release of Man of Steel, the film sparked considerable controversy over its subject matter. Fans debated the ending of Superman killing General Zod as well as the massive collateral damage in the fight scenes. There were questions about whether the movie was too bleak for a character like Superman, particularly one that would alienate the character’s target demographic of young kids. Zack Snyder’s take on Superman was controversial. Instead of going into Comic-Con 2013 as champions, Warner Bros. and DC were on the defensive, announcing Batman v. Superman at the convention to get audiences back on board the franchise when it appeared a traditional sequel wouldn’t. The truth is, the DCEU never really recovered from Man of Steel, as it was an unstable foundation to build a shared universe on, since audiences who didn’t like that version of the character likely weren’t going to want to see more.

Superman’s reaction has been largely positive. Most (but not all) of the criticism of the movie comes from the vocal minority of fans of Zack Snyder’s take who went into the movie wanting to hate it. Superman has had strong word of mouth and repeat viewings. Fans have warmly embraced the film, and the movie’s quotes and characters have become mainstream. “That’s the real punk rock” has become a new slogan, while The Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop’s “Punkrocker” became a hit on Spotify. Lesser-known characters like Mister Terrific and Metamorpho are becoming household names, just as Gunn did with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Meanwhile, often-overlooked characters in film, such as Jimmy Olsen, have gained an entirely new fanbase.

More importantly, audiences seem to be excited about the future of the DCU. Supergirl likely wasn’t on most audiences’ radar, but now, thanks to Superman and her memorable cameo at the end of the film, her solo movie will be one of summer 2026’s most anticipated entries. It has also raised interest in Peacemaker Season 2 and whatever James Gunn has planned for a Superman follow-up. Not only did Superman deliver on reintroducing the character to a new generation, but it also set up a shared universe audiences want to see more of, which is undoubtedly a win.

‘Superman’ Will Grow Like ‘Batman Begins’ Before It

David Corenswet and a woman off-screen in Superman

Despite Man of Steel having to carry the weight of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, Superman actually seems to be performing similarly to Batman Begins from 20 years ago. It might be hard to remember, but at the time, Batman Begins was seen as a moderate hit at the box office and, to some, a disappointment. It was well below the franchise heights of Tim Burton’s two Batman films or even Batman Forever, which set an opening weekend record. A sequel with Christopher Nolan directing wasn’t officially announced until a year after the release of Batman Begins. Batman Begins even made less than Superman Returns worldwide, but nobody would argue that Superman Returns was a bigger hit than Batman Begins, right?

Yet the critical and audience reaction to Batman Begins revived the brand following Batman & Robin, and the movie grew in appreciation over time as more audiences saw it on home video. Word of mouth for Batman Begins was positive, regaining audience trust in the franchise and sparking excitement for the character. That primed its follow-up, The Dark Knight, to become a box office juggernaut. The same might hold for Superman, which performed even better than Batman Begins did. Audiences clearly love David Corenswet’s version of Superman and likely want to see him in more movies. Carrying the baggage of the poor reaction to Man of Steel as well as seven DC bombs, Superman has now written a new chapter for both the character and the brand.

Now putting Dark Knight-level expectations on Man of Steel was where things got tricky, so hopefully Warner Bros. doesn’t do the same with the Superman follow-up. The box office landscape has changed significantly since then. Hollywood used to rely on the international box office to put their movies up to $1 billion. Yet that revenue stream is no longer there, or at least not to the point it once was. And it isn’t just for superhero movies; all types of Hollywood blockbusters and brands that used to do well internationally have struggled. It might be time for box office pundits and fans to adjust their expectations, realizing that $1 billion may become a rarity, but not all movies need to reach that milestone to be considered a hit. A movie grossing $600 million worldwide, with more than 50% of that coming domestically, should be viewed as a good thing as long as the movie doesn’t have a ridiculous price tag on it.

Unless someone is an investor at Warner Bros., the box office between Superman and Man of Steel is pointless. Both versions exist, and they will appeal to different fans. Neither is going away, as in Man of Steel‘s case, nobody can delete the movie, and in Superman‘s case, it looks like there will be more follow-ups. Yet the idea that Superman is a “failure” compared to Man of Steel is unfair, because it ignores key data. The numbers are part of the story, but they aren’t the whole story. Superman is available to buy or rent on Google Play and Fandango.