Superman Box Office: Grosses, Budgets and Totals for Every Film

The seven main Superman films have grossed $2.31 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, and adding three related releases lifts the ten-film total to about $3.97 billion. Figures were checked on November 3, 2026. If you want the viewing sequence first, Superman movies in order lays it out, and the Superman movies hub covers the wider series.

The four Christopher Reeve Superman films earned $627 million worldwide combined, led by Superman (1978) at $300 million. Superman (1978), directed by Richard Donner, grossed that sum on a $55 million budget, made up of $134 million domestic and $166 million international. Superman II (1981), directed by Richard Lester, took $216 million on a $54 million budget, split almost evenly between $108 million at home and $108 million abroad. Superman III (1983), also directed by Lester, fell to $80 million against a $39 million budget. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), directed by Sidney J. Furie, finished on $30 million against a $17 million budget.

The three modern main films grossed between $391 million and $670 million worldwide. Superman Returns (2006), directed by Bryan Singer, grossed $391 million, with $200 million domestic and $191 million international, against a $270 million budget according to Box Office Mojo (The Numbers lists $232 million). Man of Steel (2013), directed by Zack Snyder, earned $670 million on a $225 million budget, with $291 million domestic and $379 million international. Superman (2025), directed by James Gunn, earned $619 million worldwide on a $225 million budget, with $354 million domestic and $264.5 million international.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League and Supergirl (2026) are the three related releases that count toward the wider Superman box office, adding $1.66 billion to the main-film total. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), directed by Zack Snyder and distributed by Warner Bros., grossed $874 million on a $250 million budget (The Numbers lists $263 million), with $330 million domestic and $544 million international. Justice League (2017), also from Snyder and Warner Bros., grossed $661 million on a $300 million budget, with $229 million domestic and $432 million international. Supergirl (2026), directed by Craig Gillespie, with a release date announced by DC Studios in May 2024, has grossed $126 million on a $170 million budget, with $72 million domestic and $54.1 million international. See Supergirl (2026) for the film itself.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the highest grossing film that features Superman, at $874 million worldwide, and Man of Steel (2013) leads the seven main films at $670 million. Superman (2025) holds the largest domestic gross of all ten films at $354 million, ahead of the $330 million made by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The next main film, Man of Tomorrow, was announced by James Gunn on September 3, 2025 for a July 9, 2027 release in US theaters, as reported by ABC News.

Superman (2025) is a box office hit by gross-to-budget ratio: its $619 million worldwide gross is about 2.75 times its $225 million budget. That ratio is a blunt tool, since it ignores marketing spend and the share theaters keep, but it is the one comparison every film in the series allows. By it, Superman (2025) ranks fourth of the ten films on money earned and fifth on gross against budget.

The closest comparison is Man of Steel (2013), which cost the same $225 million. It earned about $51 million more worldwide, yet Superman (2025) beat it at home, $354 million to $291 million. About 57 percent of the gross of Superman (2025) came from domestic theaters, against roughly 43 percent for Man of Steel (2013). The grosses do not explain that split, so any reason offered for it is speculation, but it is the most interesting shift in the series figures.

The older films tell a different story. Superman (1978) returned about 5.5 times its budget and Superman II about 4 times, which makes the Richard Donner and Richard Lester films the most efficient in the series, although these raw grosses are not adjusted for inflation and a 1978 ticket is not a 2025 ticket. Superman III returned about 2.1 times and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace about 1.8 times, and the slide across those two is, in my opinion, the clearest box office sign of the original saga winding down.

At the other end, Superman Returns made about 1.4 times its $270 million budget (using the Box Office Mojo figure), which is the weakest result among the main films relative to cost. Supergirl (2026) is the only film of the ten with a worldwide gross below its budget as recorded on November 3, 2026, at $126 million against $170 million. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the most efficient of the modern films at about 3.5 times its $250 million budget, while Justice League, at $661 million on $300 million, shows how a large gross can still be an inefficient one for Warner Bros.

If you want these films ordered by quality rather than money, Superman movies ranked puts them in sequence, and where to watch Superman shows which services carry each one.