It’s Official: Superman Is the First Superhero Movie of 2025 to Fly Past $600M at the Global Box Office, While The Fantastic Four: First Steps Inches Towards $500M

Superman has officially flown past the $600 million mark at the global box office, making it the first superhero movie of 2025 to do so.

James Gunn’s DC Universe kickstarter is now on $604.5 million globally, with most of that money made in North American theaters (Gunn has offered his thoughts on why Superman is doing better domestically than internationally).

Earlier this month, Gunn made the surprise announcement that Superman would see its digital release on Friday, August 15 — just over a month after the film launched in theaters. Gunn blamed this relatively early home release on HBO Max TV series Peacemaker Season 2, which follows on directly from the events of Superman.

But Superman remains available to watch in theaters, and it’s there that the movie has set a number of records. For example, Superman is the highest-grossing Superman film in the U.S. ever, with $347 million. Zack Snyder’s 2013 DCEU kickstarter Man of Steel made $291 million at the domestic box office. But Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill as Superman, did much better internationally, bringing in $379.1 million for a global total of $670.1 million — a figure Superman almost certainly won’t beat.

Globally, Superman is comfortably ahead of all other superhero films released in 2025 so far, with its closest competitor, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, lagging behind by over $100 million. Indeed, with both the MCU and the DCU not planning any other superhero films for 2025, Superman looks set to end the year as the clear winner.

After weekend five, First Steps is now on $257.3 million domestically and $232.8 million internationally, for a global total of $490.1 million. The film’s commercial performance is being seen as something of a disappointment, despite bringing in more money already than Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts. But Marvel Studios has two big hitters coming up in 2026: Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Avengers: Doomsday, which First Steps leads into.

Meanwhile, Brad Pitt’s F1 is now on $603.4 million, marking a significant theatrical success for Apple. Zach Cregger’s killer horror-thriller Weapons is now up to $115.9 million in North American theaters after three weekends, with a global haul of $199.4 million. Weapons’ commercial success is well deserved; IGN’s Weapons review returned a 9/10: “Writer-director Zach Cregger blends unbearable tension and dark humor once more in Weapons, a horror blockbuster that’s less of a blunt-force barbarian and more of a sharp-shooting assassin.”

It’s worth noting that Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters released in theaters this weekend after its huge launch on the streaming service, and may well be the highest-grossing movie over the past few days even ahead of Weapons. Netflix does not report box office numbers, but based on KPop Demon Hunters’ widespread release globally and social media reports of sold-out screenings, Netflix no doubt has a rare theatrical hit on its hands.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.