Superman Returns (2006): Cast, Plot, Box Office and Ending Explained

Superman Returns follows Superman as he comes back to Earth after five years away and discovers that the world, and Lois Lane, kept moving without him. He had traveled to the place where astronomers thought the remains of Krypton had been found, and the film opens with his homecoming to his adoptive mother's farm, then to Metropolis and his job at the Daily Planet.

The newsroom brings the first shock. Lois Lane is engaged to Richard White, she has a young son named Jason, and she has won a Pulitzer Prize for an article titled "Why the World Does Not Need Superman." Meanwhile, Lex Luthor has been freed from prison and is planning something with stolen Kryptonian crystals.

That is the setup, and it frames a story about a hero who has to earn his place back in a city that learned to live without him. If you are new to the series, the superman movies in order guide shows where this film sits.

Superman Returns builds to a showdown over a huge new landmass that Lex Luthor wants to grow in the Atlantic Ocean, and the full plot runs in this order.

After five years away, Superman settles back in at the Daily Planet and learns that Lois Lane has a five year old son, Jason, and a fiance, Richard White. Lois has won a Pulitzer for an essay arguing that the world no longer needs a savior. Luthor, released from prison and newly rich, steals crystals from Superman's Fortress of Solitude and uses them to cause a blackout along the East Coast.

The public sees that Superman is back when he saves Lois and Richard after the plane they are on gets into danger. Luthor's plan is to grow a new landmass that would wipe out much of North America. Superman goes after him, but on the new land he is stabbed and weakened by Kryptonite, and Luthor's gang beats him badly.

Lois and Richard rescue him, and Superman lifts the huge landmass and flies it out into space. The effort drains him and he falls back to Earth in a coma. He recovers in hospital, and Lois kisses him. Superman then visits Jason and repeats to the boy the words that Jor-El once spoke to him. The film closes with Superman circling above the Earth.

Superman Returns opened in US theaters on June 28, 2006, according to Box Office Mojo. Australia followed on June 29, 2006, and the United Kingdom on July 14, 2006. Warner Bros. had first scheduled a June 30, 2006 release when production began in 2005, so the final date arrived two days ahead of that early plan.

Superman Returns (2006) streams on HBO Max in the US, on Netflix, Now TV Cinema and HBO Max in the UK, and on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max in Australia, as of November 3, 2026, according to TMDB using JustWatch data. Rental and purchase options differ by country:

• US: rental and purchase from Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. Rental also appears on Spectrum On Demand and Plex.
• UK: rental and purchase from Apple TV, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store and YouTube.
• Australia: rental and purchase from Apple TV, Amazon Video, YouTube and Fetch TV.

Catalogs change often, so check the service before you plan an evening around it. The where to watch Superman page covers the other films.

The ending of Superman Returns resolves Luthor's land grab but leaves Superman's bond with Lois and Jason as the open question for any sequel.

What actually stops Luthor? Superman throws the new landmass into space, and Kitty Kowalski has already thrown away the crystals Luthor needs to keep it growing. In my opinion, that second detail matters, because it gives the villain's own crew a small hand in the rescue, so Superman is not the only reason the plan fails.

The strain nearly kills him. He falls back to Earth in a coma, recovers in hospital, and Lois kisses him. Compare that with the film's opening, where Lois has a Pulitzer for an essay arguing the world does not need a savior. The ending answers her essay without a speech: the world has just watched a man hold up a continent sized threat and pay for it.

Then comes the quiet scene. Superman visits Jason and recites the words of his father Jor-El to the boy. It could be argued that this is the film's real final beat, since the five year absence and a five year old boy invite an obvious question about who Jason is. The film does not answer it on screen, which is what I mean by an open question.

The last image is Superman circling above the Earth. Perhaps it is best read as a promise that he is staying, with the next chapter left to whoever picks it up. The series moved on with Man of Steel (2013) as the next main entry.

Yes, Superman Returns was filmed in Australia, with Sydney as the main production base. Warner Bros. announced in March 2005 that principal photography had begun in Sydney, and Fox Studios Australia served as the home of the shoot.

Before the Sydney city shoot, cast and crew spent about two weeks on location in northwest New South Wales. The city center scenes followed around York Street and Wynyard Station on the weekend of April 10, 2005, according to ABC News.

The scale was unusual for the country, since the New South Wales Government said it was the largest single film ever shot in Australia.

Superman Returns carries documented production facts: filming began in Sydney in March 2005 and the New South Wales Government credited it with 10,000 jobs.

• The shoot was originally planned to run through mid August 2005.
• The New South Wales Government also said the production added more than 100 million Australian dollars to the local economy.
• Box Office Mojo lists a $270 million budget against $200 million domestic and $191 million international, for $391 million worldwide, while The Numbers lists a lower budget of $232 million.

Because the budget differs by source, how large the profit looks depends on which figure you use. See superman box office for the comparison with the other films.