Box office earnings from the multi-decade span of Superman on film, the power of inflation also complicates looking at raw box-office earnings. Regardless, here's how every live-action Superhero movie has preformed from 1978 to the present.

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10 Highest Grossing DC Movies Of All Time

There is a long and rich history of movies based on DC Comics, but an exceptional few projects have reached fantastic box-office milestones.

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8 Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987) Is The Lowest-Earning Superman Movie Of All Time

$30,281,020 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

Sequels are difficult, but coming fourth in a series and maintaining the same success as the first movie is nearly impossible. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace faced this problem after Superman had been such a massive success in 1978. In addition to grossing hundreds of millions of dollars less than its earliest predecessor at the box office, Superman IV received significant criticism from fans and critics alike.

Widely regarded as the worst Superman movie, the fourth installment in Christopher Reeve's Superman franchise has an astonishingly low 3.7/10 score on even Reeve regretted making Superman IV.

7 Superman III (1983) Performed Better Than IV But Considerably Worse Than Its Two Predecessors

$80,250,623 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

While not nearly as criticized as Superman IV, Superman III comes in as the second-lowest-earning Superman movie. Particularly in light of how successful and celebrated Superman and Superman II were, the drop in box office earnings and mixed reviews from audiences and critics signaled the beginning of the end for Reeve's Superman. In fact, Reeve lumped Superman III in with his regrets over agreeing to make Superman IV because the two shared several flaws.

Superman III had a slightly better reception than its sequel, earning a 5/10 on IMDB and a 29% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Interestingly, critics seem to have liked it more than fans did; the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 23%. Even so, audiences were unhappy with the changes this installment made to the Superman character, who had become popular in the first two movies. Superman III is viewed as being goofier and a bit more campy, and the tonal shift did not go over well.

6 Superman II (1981) Started Superman's Trend Of Sequels' Declining Box Office Numbers

$216,385,706 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

Superman II is widely regarded as an excellent Superman movie, with many considering it just as good as the first—a major feat for a sequel. The film has a complicated history, though, even given its success. While it was first released in 1981 to fairly universal acclaim, the movie had undergone changes when tensions began between producers and the original director, Richard Donner. Donner had directed Superman, a major success, but conflicts on set led to his removal from the second movie during production.

Eventually, in response to fan curiosity, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released, with some feeling that it would have been a better movie. Despite this bit of controversy, though, even the original cut performed extremely well. While it's technically third lowest in of Superman movie box office earnings, inflation must be taken into . $216,000,000 in 1981 is equivalent to significantly more money in 2024, which means that, if inflation-adjusted, Superman II would have a much higher ranking.

5 Superman (1978) Was Christopher Reeve's First and Highest Grossing Superman Appearance

$300,478,449 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

Despite the final installments of Reeve's Superman films being poorly received, Superman: The Movie is considered by many to be the best Superman movie. As Superman's first live-action, full-length movie appearance, it became something of a cultural phenomenon, but the writing, acting, and effects of the movie are largely considered to hold up even now. While a small part of this might be chalked up to nostalgia, Reeve's depiction of Superman and the thoughtfulness behind the script more than earned their success.

Superman's box office earnings, again ing for inflation's impact on those numbers, speak for themselves, as does its 94% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A $300,000,000 box office hit in 1978, adjusting for inflation, puts the movie above the Man of Steel's more modern cinematic outings. That higher slot would likely be more appropriate for the film, cut-and-dry numbers aside, given its prominence in the long line of Superman films.

4 Superman Returns (2006) Brought Superman Into The 21st Century With A Bang

$404,231,192 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

After the flop of Superman IV, audiences needed a new Superman story, and Superman Returns offered exactly that. Perhaps due in part to this anticipation (and undoubtedly with the help of inflation), this movie grossed more at the box office than Superman, and it was generally well-received. Interestingly, despite the higher earnings, the movie didn't fare as well as Superman in of critic and audience scores. On Rotten Tomatoes, Superman Returns has a 74% from critics and a much lower 61% audience score.

Reasons for its score included slow pacing and some serious plot holes, but much of the criticism revolved around comparing it to Superman. Many found that it paled in comparison to the classic. It's important to , though, that most of these assessments are made long after the movie premiered. Reception at the time of the film's release was likely more positive. This is particularly true for Superman Returns, which came out a few years before Iron Man (2008). Since then, the MCU and DCEU have exploded, perhaps making Superman Returns seem less impressive.

3 Justice League's (2017) Ensemble Cast Drew Audiences To The Theater

$661,326,987 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

Justice League was an exciting update for the DCEU as the titular team's only live-action movie to date, and it sparked significant interest for that reason, drawing in over $600 million in box office earnings. Despite coming in third in of highest-earning Superman movies, though, it performed very badly with critics and is considered damaging to the larger DCEU. On Rotten Tomatoes, Justice League has an astoundingly low critic score of 39%. Audiences liked it a bit more, but it can't be considered a true success with an audience score of 67%.

The reason for the gap, despite its higher earnings, may be inflation, especially because it was considered a box office disappointment. The earnings might be better attributed to the fact that it was highly anticipated, getting fans to theaters, but was then a letdown. Critics cite thin characters and chaotic action scenes among the movie's issues. Interestingly, Justice League followed in the footsteps of Superman II, with its Zack Snyder's Justice League cut in 2021. Like its predecessor, Justice League's updated cut was better received than the original.

2 Henry Cavill's Man Of Steel (2013) Was A Success

$670,145,518 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

As the new Superman on the scene following Brandon Routh's portrayal in Superman Returns, Henry Cavill had an uphill battle. Superman movies up until that point had largely faced a mixed reception, except for Superman and its direct sequel. Man of Steel performed significantly better than Justice League in audience and critic reviews, with a 75% audience score and a 56% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. This split also means that critics found Man of Steel to be much worse than Superman Returns, while audiences marginally liked it more.

Despite the movie's somewhat poor reception from critics, Man of Steel has aged well and remains fairly popular with the fans. Cavill, in particular, has become increasingly beloved as an actor since 2013, and that has likely boosted fan perceptions of Man of Steel and Cavill's portrayal of Superman more broadly. Given that audiences had also favored Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League, it's perhaps unsurprising that Man of Steel, directed by Snyder, is popular enough to have earned the second-place spot for highest-earning Superman movies.

1 Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) Is The Top-Grossing Superman Movie Of All Time

$874,362,803 Worldwide Box Office Earnings

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was a highly-anticipated movie, and its box office earnings reflect that. These numbers are a bit deceptive, though, given the very divisive responses to the movie. Despite being the highest-earning movie with Superman in a leading role, Batman V. Superman was extremely poorly received by critics, earning an abysmal 29% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences favored it significantly more, giving the movie an overall 63% score, but that means while it was the highest-earning Superman movie at the box office, it was not the best received.

These divides between critic and audience scores, particularly recently, may signal a trend for superhero movies. Generally, audiences have rated recent DC films higher than critics have, and, based on how often critics reference dizzying action sequences as a pitfall of the movies, audiences and critics may be looking for different things. This wouldn't be all that surprising for superhero movies, which tend to be massively popular as a genre for fans, but less so for film critics. Regardless, the mixed history of Superman's live-action movie appearances sets up an interesting challenge for the Superman: Legacy.