Marvel Studios films have been juggernauts at the box office since the first release in 2008, often overshadowing every other superhero film. However, its most recent record-breaking feat has come to an end. 2025 has brought the release of four new mainstream superhero films: Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Superman. Despite Marvel Studios having three new releases, DC Studios' single film (and the first in the new DCU) is taking over the box office.
As of now, Superman has grossed $615 million at the worldwide box office and is the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year. It outpaces The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($519 million), Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million), and Thunderbolts* ($382 million). This breaks Marvel Studios' record-breaking streak at the box office, which it has kept going since 2021. The company previously earned the title for the most consecutive years with the highest-grossing superhero movie of the year in the post-COVID era, keeping this streak for four years.
Amid post-pandemic pains at the box office, Marvel Studios largely endured these issues. In 2024, Marvel released Deadpool & Wolverine, the second-highest-grossing movie of that year. In 2023, the studio had Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which earned over $800 million worldwide. In 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the biggest superhero film, and in 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home was the year's highest-grossing film.
Over the last four years, DC Studios has undergone an identity shift, as Warner Bros phased out the DCEU and implemented James Gunn and Peter Safran as heads of the newly-created DC Studios to restart the superhero cinematic universe. Several DC films were still ushered out the door during that time, including Black Adam, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and The Flash, but none came close to becoming the toppling Marvel as the top superhero earner of the year.
Superman is the first DCU film to beat Marvel Studios at the box office since 2020, during which the MCU did not have a new film release, and DC had Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984. Superman is also the first film in the new DCU, signalling a strong launchpad for the new DC universe.
Superman, directed by studio head James Gunn, stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. It was released in cinemas on July 11 and arrived on digital platforms on August 15.
Marvel and DC's Competitive Box Office History
Despite a marked shift in superhero earnings at the box office in general in 2025, the rivalry between Marvel and DC films is a long one.
In 2008, when the MCU first launched with Iron Man, it managed to land in the top ten films of the year at the box office. DC had not yet started its cinematic universe strategy, but Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight was dominating for Warner Bros. When Man of Steel finally arrived in 2013, heralding the beginning of the DCEU, Marvel Studios was already multiple sequels deep, with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World releasing in the same year (and the former outpacing the new Superman film).
Over the next decade, Marvel and DC had competing films at the box office, with Fox's X-Men films and Sony's Spider-Man universe all showing up occasionally. However, the 2010s firmly belonged to the MCU, with at least one Marvel Studios release constantly bettering the DCEU's film of that year in terms of earnings.
Superman's success at the box office in 2025 suggests that the tide may finally be turning in DC Studios' favor. The new cinematic universe has several upcoming releases planned, including Supergirl, Clayface, and the "next installment in the Super-Family," which is being fast-tracked. The MCU has some heavy-hitters of its own on the way, including Spider-Man: Brand New Day and two more Avengers films, meaning the box office competition will remain fierce between the two superhero studios over the next few years.
