Core Insights - "Superman" opened with $122 million at the domestic box office, marking the year's second-largest opening day and is projected to gross over $217 million internationally [1][2] - The film's budget was $225 million, and early box office sales indicate it is on track to earn back this amount [1][2] - The film's success is seen as a victory for DC Studios co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran, who aim to revitalize the DC brand with more films and television shows [2][8] Box Office Performance - "Superman" had an opening day gross of $56.5 million, ranking just behind "A Minecraft Movie" which opened at $57.1 million [2] - Other films performing well include "Jurassic World Rebirth" with an estimated $40 million and "F1" with approximately $13 million [4] Industry Context - Warner Bros. stock had fallen to a historic low in 2024 due to poor box office sales, and the company is pursuing a split from Discovery after a merger in 2022 [3] - "Superman" is shaping up to be the first major hit for DC in years, surpassing the opening weekend of previous films like "The Batman" and "Man of Steel" [6] Reception and Criticism - Despite facing backlash from some critics labeling it "superwoke," "Superman" received 82% positive reviews from critics and 93% from fans on Rotten Tomatoes [5] - Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav highlighted the film's performance and the future plans for the DC brand, including upcoming projects like "Supergirl" and new iterations of "Wonder Woman" and "Batman" [8]

Group 1 - Warner Bros. Discovery experienced a mixed first quarter with streaming subscriber growth and profit, but anticipated revenue decline from the film studio, which improved in Q2 [1] - The company ended March with 122.3 million global streaming subscribers, an increase of 5.3 million from Q4, and streaming revenue reached $339 million [2] - Content revenues fell by 25% due to lower theatrical performance, with a notably weak box office [3] Group 2 - Total revenues were approximately $9 billion, reflecting a 10% decline, while the net loss was about $500 million, which included $1.6 billion in pre-tax acquisition-related amortization and restructuring expenses [4]