The DC Extended Universe has had a tough time over the past decade. It was supposed to start with Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern movie, but that ended up retconned, and instead, it began with Man of Steel, which polarized viewers. Things got worse when Zack Snyder followed that up with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

The DCEU split in half, with the Zack Snyder fans taking one side, calling his movies the best of all time, and the mainstream fans on the other, calling out the problems with Snyder's movies. This carried over, with Snyder fans hating the movies he didn't direct, but mainstream fans and critics praising at least Wonder Woman and Shazam!. This is leveled out somewhat in Letterboxd ratings, where movie fans grade their favorite and most despised movies.

UPDATE: 2022/11/13 21:45 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS

The DCEU is in a weird place in 2022. With Warner Bros. under new ownership, several changes occurred that included canceling Batgirl, even though the movie was already filmed, and then postponing Shazam: The Fury of the Gods. The only movie that hit in 2022 was Black Adam, which is rolling along at the box office, although it is making less than other movies with DC heroes. However, with Henry Cavill returning as Superman and James Gunn g on to help run the entire division, things might be looking up, which is good for a superhero brand with less than stellar Letterboxd scores.

12 Suicide Squad (2016) - 2.1

Available To Watch On HBO Max

When the Zack Snyder fans began demanding the Snyder Cut of Justice League and succeeded in getting that wish, they turned their attention to demanding the David Ayer cut of Suicide Squad. This movie saw Ayer lose control of his edit to Warner Bros. and what resulted was a movie that never seemed to find its footing.

There is quality acting there, especially from Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, but the movie never hit the level of success that critics or fans hoped for.

11 Justice League (2017) - 2.1

Available To Watch On HBO Max

Zack Snyder began directing his third DCEU movie with Justice League, but tragedy struck when his daughter ed away and he had to leave the project. Warner Bros. hired Joss Whedon to come in and make major changes. Warner wanted it to feel more like a Marvel movie than the dark and brooding Snyderverse.

What resulted was an uneven movie that felt rushed and patch-worked together, and fans responded negatively. The fan and critic response eventually caused Warner Bros. to allow Snyder to return with his Snyder Cut a few years later.

10 Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) - 2.3

Available To Watch On HBO Max

Wonder Woman 1984 had the misfortune of coming out during the pandemic, which meant movie theaters all over the world were closed for business. It got a theatrical release in whatever theaters were open during the Christmas 2020 season, and the rest of the fans watched it on HBO Max.

That negatively affected the movie, as Patty Jenkins tried to keep Wonder Woman as an uplifting character who tried to always do the right thing, including pas a giant fight at the end with Diana reaching out and convincing people to accept peace. Fans responded with a below-average 2.3 Letterboxd rating.

9 Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) - 2.5

Available To Watch On HBO Max

Man of Steel didn't get great reviews when it came out, but it remained a movie that had its fans, especially when they consider Zack Snyder trying to show how the real modern-day world would react to Superman. However, Batman V Superman was panned when it hit theaters.

Over time, Zack Snyder fans came around, especially when he released his director's cut on Blu-ray, but at the time of its release, critics called it a movie that tried to do too much in its running time and felt bloated as a result. Its Letterboxd rating from fans is only slightly higher than Wonder Woman 1984.

8 Black Adam (2022) - 2.9

Still In Theaters

The DCEU made a ton of changes in 2022, canceling one movie and delaying others. The only one that screened was Black Adam, and this movie was a relative success. It made less money than many other DCEU movies and its reviews were polarizing, with many critics hating it and many fans loving it.

For Letterboxd, it comes down to the fans, and the movie ended up middle of the road for DCEU. It matched the polarizing Man of Steel and fun Aquaman, but was clearly better than the critically-hated Batman V Superman. Part of it lies in the performance of Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam, but the score shows that the DCEU still has something to build the future on.

7 Man Of Steel (2013) - 2.9

Available To Watch On HBO Max

Man of Steel was the first movie to officially kickstart the DCEU after the failure of Green Lantern caused Warner Bros. to change plans. The movie has received praise on its second look down the line at the time of its release.

However, the portrayal of Superman as a man who wasn't sure if he wanted to be a hero, Jonathan Kent as someone who taught his son it was sometimes better to let people die, and Superman killing his enemy at the end, doomed Man of Steel when it came to its average Letterboxd rating.

6 Aquaman (2018) - 2.9

Available To Watch On HBO Max

Aquaman took a very different approach to the DCEU movies. While Zack Snyder's three movies were as dark as coal when it came to the world of the heroes, Aquaman was a more action-packed, fun approach to the DC superheroes.

This movie was all excitement, with Jason Momoa playing a hero who was extremely likable and was the closest that the DCEU came to mirroring the Marvel formula. While fans of Snyder didn't like the tone, Aquaman was still good enough to have a slightly above-average 2.9 rating on Letterboxd.

5 Birds Of Prey (2020) - 3.2

Available To Watch On HBO Max

Birds of Prey tried to create a movie that lived in the world of Suicide Squad and achieved what that previous movie couldn't. It also tried to make a movie that was about female empowerment and strong female characters. What resulted was something that, as with most DCEU movies, polarized fans.

The movie was colorful and vibrant, and the acting was solid across the board, with the women all complex and warriors and the villain a gloriously over-the-top Ewan McGregor. However, while it received an above-average 3.2 Letterboxd rating, it slipped up at the box office.

4 Shazam! (2019) - 3.3

Available To Watch On HBO Max

One of the most surprising DCEU movies to hit was the 2019 release Shazam!. While the critical reviews were overwhelmingly positive, they were slightly lower on Letterboxd, sitting at just 3.3.

There could be several reasons for the difference, but one complaint came from the Snyder Cut fans who hated the comedic moments and felt the lightness of this DCEU release was a stark contrast to the serious themes in Snyder's movies.

3 Wonder Woman (2017) - 3.4

Available To Watch On HBO Max

The only original DCEU movie to receive high critical acclaim was 2017's Wonder Woman. When it came out, it was the highest critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and also ranks behind Zack Snyder's Justice League's score on Letterboxd with a 3.5.

Fans and critics alike praised the movie when it hit theaters for its portrayal of Wonder Woman, showing that she was easily the purest hero in the DCEU when it came to her actions and always doing the right thing.