Will the box office be Superman’s Kryptonite? The David Corenswet–starring Superman marks the start of an ambitious, decadelong plan for a new DC Universe — but director and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn isn’t as worried about the film’s numbers as some may think. “This is not the riskiest endeavor in the world,” he told GQ. “Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it’s not as big as people make it out to be. They hear these numbers that the movie’s only going to be successful if it makes $700 million or something and it’s just complete and utter nonsense. It doesn’t need to be as big of a situation as people are saying.” Gunn’s assessment comes after a June report from The Wrap quoted a talent agent who suggested that the film, with a reported budget of $225 million, will bring in $500 million just because of the brand-name recognition of its titular superhero and, as a result, needs to make $700 million to be considered an actual hit for DC. The last iteration of Warner Bros.’ DC Universe ended with Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash in 2023; both films had controversial leads and were ultimately box-office flops.
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Even if the entire DC Universe doesn’t depend on his performance, Corenswet is already prepared to devote the rest of his career to DC.
“Ultimately, what I landed on for myself was, if this is the only role I get to play for the rest of my life, and that means whether I get to play it once or get to play it ten times, would I still say yes?” the actor said to GQ. “And the answer was yes.” How many millions of dollars do we think Superman needs to make in order to turn Corenswet into Clark Kent full time?
