Superman Reviews: Our Verdicts on Every Superman Film

Cinvibe's Superman reviews cover the eight theatrical Superman-franchise films, and my verdicts run from Superman (1978), which I would still pick first, down to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which I would pick last. These are opinions, written to help you choose what to watch tonight. Each one is short, and the full review of each film will sit on its own page in the Superman movies section.

In my opinion, yes: Superman (2025), directed by James Gunn, is a good film, and it is the one I would hand to a friend who wants a modern Superman story. David Corenswet plays Superman, Rachel Brosnahan plays Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor, with a wide cast around them that includes Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl and Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen. The film runs 130 minutes and begins after Superman is already working as a hero, which spares it a third modern retelling of Krypton and Kansas.

The opening act gives Corenswet a strong problem to play. Superman stops Boravia from invading its neighbor Jarhanpur, and soon afterward he is beaten for the first time, in Metropolis, by a metahuman nicknamed the Hammer of Boravia. He retreats to the Fortress of Solitude with his dog Krypto, where robots heal him with concentrated sunlight. A hero who has to recover before he can win is a useful shape for a story, and it could be argued that it makes Superman more interesting than a flawless version would. The damaged message from Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara (Angela Sarafyan), of which only the first half survives, gives the Fortress scene a quiet emotional hook. See the full Superman cast list. The film has its own page at Superman (2025).

Yes, every Cinvibe Superman review is spoiler free, because it uses only each film's opening act, its public cast and its published numbers. Where I mention a scene, it is a setup scene such as the Phantom Zone sentence in Superman (1978) or the Niagara Falls assignment in Superman II. Opinions about craft, casting and tone are fair game, and how any film ends is not.

By the numbers, Superman (2025) is a hit, though a measured one. Box Office Mojo lists $354 million domestic and $264.5 million international, for about $619 million worldwide against a $225 million budget, which is more than two and a half times the cost. The comparison most fans reach for is Man of Steel (2013), directed by Zack Snyder, which earned about $670 million on the same $225 million budget. Superman (2025) beat it at home ($354 million against $291 million) and trailed it overseas ($264.5 million against $379 million).

The wider series makes the picture clearer. Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer, took $391 million on a $270 million budget, and Supergirl (2026), directed by Craig Gillespie, has taken $126 million on a $170 million budget so far (as of November 3, 2026). In my opinion the better test of a relaunch is whether it leaves a sequel standing, and it does: Gunn announced Man of Tomorrow on September 3, 2025, with a US date of July 9, 2027, and filming wrapped on August 26, 2026. The latest dates are on the Man of Tomorrow page, and the full figures for every film are on the Superman box office page.

Viewers who dislike Superman (2025) mostly cite its crowded cast, its abrupt start without an origin story, and a lighter tone than Man of Steel (2013). In my opinion these are matters of taste rather than craft. Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl and the Engineer all arrive alongside Superman's own story, so a viewer who wanted a small, personal film may feel the screen is full. The film also drops us into a fictional border conflict between Boravia and Jarhanpur, which suits fans of the comics but may feel abrupt next to the Krypton openings of Superman (1978) and Man of Steel (2013).

Tone is the other fault line. Snyder's Man of Steel (2013) was grave and grounded, and viewers who loved Henry Cavill in that register may find Gunn's version lighter than they wanted. None of that makes the disappointment unreasonable, and I would add that a film can miss one viewer's taste and still be well made.

Here is where I land on every other Superman film, in release order.

Superman (1978) was directed by Richard Donner and stars Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman, with Marlon Brando as Jor-El. Box Office Mojo lists $300.5 million worldwide on a $55 million budget, and the film runs 144 minutes. The Krypton prologue, the Phantom Zone sentence for General Zod and the Kansas upbringing still set the pattern for every later film, and John Williams's main title theme remains the best known piece of music in the series. Verdict: recommended, and the place to start if you want the history.

Superman II, directed by Richard Lester, brings back Terence Stamp as Zod alongside Sarah Douglas as Ursa and Jack O'Halloran as Non after a hydrogen bomb frees them from the Phantom Zone. Its setup also sends Lois Lane and Clark Kent to Niagara Falls, where she starts to suspect his secret. It earned $216 million worldwide on a $54 million budget. Verdict: recommended, and the best villain set piece in the series.

Superman III, also directed by Lester, runs 125 minutes and earned $80.2 million worldwide on a $39 million budget, according to The Numbers. Richard Pryor plays the programmer Gus Gorman, Robert Vaughn plays the tycoon Ross Webster, and Annette O'Toole plays Lana Lang. In my opinion the Smallville reunion scenes are the strongest part, while the comic satellite plot sits awkwardly beside them. Verdict: mixed.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, directed by Sidney J. Furie, runs only 90 minutes and took $30.3 million worldwide on a $17 million budget. Superman's promise to rid the world of nuclear weapons at the United Nations is an ambitious idea, but the film plainly strains against its budget, and Mark Pillow's Nuclear Man never gets the room that Zod's trio enjoyed. Verdict: skip, and last place in my ranking.

Superman Returns brings Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey together under Bryan Singer in a 154 minute film that takes place five years after Superman left. Lois now has a fiancé, Richard White (James Marsden), and a young son named Jason. It is handsome and respectful, and perhaps too respectful, but Routh deserves credit for carrying the Reeve tradition. Verdict: mixed.

Man of Steel (2013) is Zack Snyder's 143 minute take, with Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon as Zod and Russell Crowe as Jor-El, scored by Hans Zimmer. Kevin Costner's Jonathan Kent and Diane Lane's Martha Kent are the heart of it, and I prefer the Kansas flashbacks to the destruction of Metropolis. Verdict: recommended with reservations. Henry Cavill's Superman also appears in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, which sit outside the eight films reviewed here.

Supergirl (2026) follows Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, who is 23 and partying across space when a young woman named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) asks for help against the outlaw Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). When Krem poisons Krypto, Kara has only days to find the antidote, and Jason Momoa appears as Lobo. I like the road trip premise as a way to get Superman's world out of Metropolis, and its $126 million gross as of November 3, 2026 should not decide the question for you. Verdict: recommended. David Corenswet appears as Superman in the cast as well.

Cinvibe's verdicts are its own opinions, and professional critics reach their own conclusions. Critics at outlets such as The Guardian and Empire write their own reviews of Superman (2025), and it is worth reading one or two against mine, because the disagreement between critics is often the most useful part. Cinvibe does not copy their wording.

If you are new to the series, start with Superman (1978) for the foundation, then watch Superman II straight afterward, because the two share the Zod story. If you want the newest film and nothing else, Superman (2025) is my pick, and it stands on its own for a viewer who has seen none of the others. You can find a streaming option for each film on the where to watch Superman page, and the full order is on the Superman movies in order page.