Film news: ‘Superman’ flies alongside ‘Barbie’ with massive impression on HBO Max
Superman already won one battle at the box office, and the James Gunn flick is now making a big impact on the small screen as well.
A relatively short time after arriving in cinemas in July, Superman came to Warner Bros.' streaming service, HBO Max, in mid-September.
Film News Blitz’s Dan Lawrence writes about how the film has been a hit in people’s homes.
A heroic opening 10 days
70 days on from its release in cinemas, Superman, starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, became available on HBO Max on September 19.
According to Variety, after 10 days, the film had garnered 13 million views on Warner’s streaming platform.
That impressive number is the biggest 10-day opening for a new release on HBO Max since 2023’s Barbie.
The impressive arrival on streaming had a strong effect on other Superman-related titles, with spikes recorded from September 15 to 21.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, the documentary charting the life and hardship of cinema’s most famous Man of Steel, saw a 670% increase in streaming compared to the previous week.
Reeve became a worldwide phenomenon when he starred in 1978’s Superman: The Movie, and the superhero film that paved the way for those that followed saw a 155% jump.
Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh as the titular hero, hiked by 120% and Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill, went up 40% during the September 15-21 window.
The future of the DCU
Gunn’s DCU is quickly picking up pace.
While Superman’s $600 million-plus gross wasn’t by any means breathtaking, it was still a strong result that beat all three of Marvel’s cinematic releases in 2025.
The film’s arrival on the small screen coincided with the release of Peacemaker Season 2 on HBO Max, which has been an absolute smash with critics.
2026 will see Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow soar into cinemas, and Gunn recently revealed that a follow-up to Superman, called Man of Tomorrow, will be released in 2027.
That will see the return of Corenswet as Superman, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, with the adversaries slated to team up against a common enemy.
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