Every Superman actor, ranked (from David Corenswet to Christopher Reeve)
Is it Christopher Reeve, the beloved star who made everyone believe a man could fly with John Williams' legendary theme? Is it Henry Cavill, who gave the Man of Steel in Zack Snyder's DC universe a more serious tone? Might it be one of TV's Supermen, like Dean Cain or Tom Welling? Or could it be the latest guy in tights, David Corenswet, star of James Gunn's new adventure "Superman" (in theaters July 11)?
To celebrate the next guy in the red trunks, we're ranking every live-action movie and TV Superman who unleashed his heat vision on pop culture. (Sorry, fans of Nicolas Cage's computer-generated cameo in "The Flash." Also we're only dealing with Supermen here, which leaves out "Superboy" stars John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher.)
9. Kirk Alyn
As the first to play Superman Kirk Alyn wasn't the most jacked hero, but he definitely brought a wholesome goodness to the character in the 1948 movie serial "Superman" and its sequel "Atom Man vs. Superman" two years later. His DC roots ran deep: He also played the title role of "Blackhawk" in 1950s serials and had a cameo as Lois Lane's dad in the 1978 "Superman" film.
8. Brandon Routh
Brandon Routh looked the role and had the potential to be one of the best ever, but Bryan Singer's 2006 film "Superman Returns" was a just-OK movie that never took off the way the studio hoped. Although it was just a one-and-done for Routh, the actor was able to show more of his superhero side as the Atom in CW's "Legends of Tomorrow" TV series and put Supes' cape back on for a 2019 Arrowverse crossover.
7. Dean Cain
Dean Cain's do-gooder was more soapy than super in four seasons of ABC's 1990s show "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." Starring Cain and Teri Hatcher (as Lois Lane), the series put an interesting rom-com spin on the Superman mythos and, sure, the thing was pretty goofy. But it introduced mainstream audiences to lots of cool DC lore, and Cain worked the suave Supes/bumbling Clark dichotomy well.
6. Henry Cavill
Another case of a potentially really good Supes undermined by his movies: In Zack Snyder's 2013 "Man of Steel" and 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," Cavill's superhero wasn't exactly optimistic or joyful – in fact, he was brooding, morose and at times downright dark. (Need we mention he snapped a foe's neck?) It wasn't until 2017's "Justice League" when Cavill started to really be a Superman worthy of John Williams' theme, only to then get a pink slip thanks to a DC Universe reboot.
5. Tyler Hoechlin
A lot of folks slept on Hoechlin's portrayal of the comic-book character, first with a handful appearances on CW's "Supergirl" starting in 2016 and some Arrowverse cameos before starring for four seasons on "Superman & Lois" (2021-24). Hoechlin's one of the best to nail Superman's emotional journey while balancing different sides of the role – in his case, the strong-willed superhero and the loving, charming family man.
4. Tom Welling
Spend 10 seasons leading a TV show, and you must be doing something right. No one spent longer playing Clark Kent than WB's "Smallville" star Tom Welling, who crafted an epic journey for the character. From the angst-ridden teen on a Kansas farm who joins the high school football team to getting an adult job at the Daily Planet, Welling was consistently strong in showing how a future Superman learns to fly, in every way.
3. David Corenswet
It's obvious from the start of the new "Superman" movie that David Corenswet just gets the guy, to his core. He saves kids from monster-fueled mayhem and property damage. He risks international incidents to save people who need him. He stops everything to go find his lost dog. The Man of Steel, when done right, is kindness and empathy personified, and Corenswet checks those boxes while adding some humor and a little bit of fire, too.
2. George Reeves
Just as Adam West did with Batman a decade later, George Reeves defined the Man of Steel for generations – and brought the character into the public eye like never before – with the 1950s show "Adventures of Superman." As mild-mannered Clark Kent and his powerful alter ego, who'd regularly save his pals Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, Reeves brought likability, honesty and an authoritative streak to the role that changed his life.
1. Christopher Reeve
The GOAT, plain and simple. Christopher Reeve's first two Superman movies showcased a phenomenal actor who brought nuance to the superhero movie and brilliantly captured the character: This alien from Krypton was raised to be the best of us, embracing humanity and falling in love. One scene from his first film in 1978 encompasses how great he was: With just a shift in posture and mannerisms and taking off his eyeglasses, he effortlessly swaps his Clark Kent persona for the big blue boy scout. And as the ultimate Superman, he's the guy everybody else wearing that cape and "S" shield will be trying to match, forever more.
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Forbes
23 minutes ago
- Forbes
Interview: Superman Wētā VFX Supervisor Guy Williams On DC Worldbuilding
The best-performing superhero film of 2025 is Superman, and I sat down with Wētā Senior VFX Supervisor Guy Williams to talk about his team's worldbuilding work for writer-director (and co-CEO of DC Studios) James Gunn's newly launched DCU. Superman And Wētā By the Numbers Williams brings an impressive resume to his work. He joined Wētā FX as part of the team on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and later worked on Avatar as a visual effects supervisor in 2009. He's had a particularly great recent run with Wētā, earning four Academy Award nominations for visual effects, for The Avengers in 2012, Iron Man 3 in 2013, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in 2017, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023. Don't be surprised if Williams scores his fifth nomination in 13 years for his and his team's work on Superman. Gunn wanted a whole new aesthetic for his Superman world, and his vision guided Williams and his Wētā team in their exceptional work – with Production VFX Supervisor Stéphane Ceretti -- in two particular sequences I loved which form the backbone of the worldbuilding and the feel of the Man of Steel's new world. The first sequence in question is the kaiju battle in Metropolis, and the second is the primordial pocket universe and prison. These are two highly contrasting environments and aesthetics, but together they represent a complete visual aesthetic matching the film's themes and arcs around darkness and light, truth and lies, kindness and cruelty, action and consequence. It's rare that this degree of nuanced connectivity is interwoven into so much of a film's visuals and VFXs as a reflection of emotions and messaging. So without further ado, here is my interview with Superman Wētā FX Visual Effects Supervisor Guy Williams. The Wētā Superman Interview MARK HUGHES: Could you talk about how you compartmentalize those kind of the approaches to [the] different aesthetics and what's needed? You know, the one is in the middle of a big bright city and.. the other [is] this pocket dimension… GUY WILLIAMS: So, a lot of that's done by Henry Braham, the director of photography. He's the one that sort of sets the visual style for the entire movie. If you ask him, DPs, they'll tell you their job is, 'Anything that the camera sees, I am responsible for.' So, which is interesting because with these of visual effects, obviously, we create a challenge for him because the camera doesn't see our stuff. But it's a collaboration with him. He's working to set the vibe for the entire film. He's the one that creates that beautiful, crisp, saturated palette for the entire movie between him and James [Gunn]. They sort of figure out what they want the movie to look like. Metropolis for the Kaiju fight versus the pocket universe are two very different looks, but they're also two very different approaches to filmmaking. From Metropolis, we actually took the unit out to Cleveland and, you know, spent a few weeks shooting a lot of scenes in Cleveland on the streets. So the look of Metropolis, for the most part, is dictated by what the sun was doing that day. Visual effects, we did take over a lot of it. We had cloudy days while we're shooting, we had sunny days. So we turned all the visual effects shots to be more sunny, just to keep the vibe up the whole time. Now, when you get above the buildings, when we're in Cleveland, the buildings that you see are-- I think it's called Freedom Park. It's a square in the middle of Cleveland. There are not that many very tall buildings all around Cleveland. So to make it look more like Metropolis, which is sort of based off of a Chicago -New York [inspiration], we extend everything past the first building, and we get this nice beautiful cityscape everywhere. So you have this beautiful [view], all the way up to having a river with boats on it. And it just feels like a much more lived-in city. So, you know, visual effects can help a lot in that regard. When we get to the pocket universe, that's a much more more esoteric conceptual look. We shot those on stages in Atlanta, and for the most part, they were shot really dark because James was keen to have it be this very oppressive, moody, dark [place], you know? You're not supposed to want to go through the pocket universe, right? There's things other than a prison there, but it's an ideal prison. So for that, we shot on stages. We kept the lighting kind of dim, which was a challenge for us because we'd rather have too much light than take it down. But anyway, Henry shot some beautiful plate sports there. Then, that's much more of a conversation with the art department. Beth Mickle is the production designer for the film. She works with James to sort of set the incoming look for the pocket universe. And we got a lot of interesting artwork, it was very vibrant. We ended up working with James, and James had us make an even darker, even more monochromatic. So instead of being, you know, lavenders and golds and greens and purples, it ended up just being sort of a deep, dark purple with accents of gold everywhere. The lighting sort of dictates that, and sort of pushed the more oppressive, dark gloominess. We also, during the exploration phase of visual effects, we started with this beautiful world made out of this crystal call bismuth, which I think is-- it's a metal, but I think it's a periodic metal. But if you cool it in a certain ways, you can actually get it to form these cube-based crystals. So we sort of riffed on that and made the entire pocket universe out of a bismuth crystals. And at first, the formations look really cool because it's very shiny, colorful purple and gold. So, at first we just had crystals everywhere. We had this beautiful cubic environment, lots of interesting colors. But James had us pull all that back, because he wanted to, once again, really feel oppressive and bleak and sort of dark. So, you know, it's all an evolution. You come in with ideas, you refine the ideas through design and concept, and then you refine the ideas even further once you start doing it. MH: It's interesting that with Metropolis there was the pre-existing city, so your work there was built upon and had to take into account the existing physics and laws of gravity and things like that in not only expanding and building out metropolis, but also then everything that takes place with the monsters there. But for the pocket universe, you had the visual aesthetics that they wanted, but you still had to achieve the geometry and the physics of how that world operated. Did you get a whole lot of feedback from James Gunn about that or from the cinematographer? Or was that something that you had to take what they wanted… [and] find the balance? GW: So with the pocket universe, because it's so virtual, Henry dictates what the lighting is, but then it sort of goes over to the art department and visual effects and to James to figure out what the actual resulting look is going to be. Because so much is being added after, you know, live action finishes. So directors is in general-- James especially, but directors are over the top of everything, right? And a good director will tell you, you know, what color a shoelace on a shoe should be. I mean, the amount of input that you get from a good director is significant. And it's not just because of a power trip, directors don't sit there and just go, 'Well, I want it to be this way because I want it.' Their job is to create emotion. A really thoughtful director sees every single pixel, every single nuance is a block in the chain of creating all that emotion to the audience. So James is very involved in the look of it. He's very involved. And, you know, often you'll think you're onto an idea and James will take you in a different direction, and you're not sure where he's going with it. But then you get there, and you realize it's a better idea than where you were going. So it's, you know, that's what a good director does, they pull everything into a certain direction. But at the same time, a good director also understands their limitations, and understands the fact that there are 24 hours in a day. They can't do everything. So, their job is to stay high level enough, pulling you along, so that they can touch everything; but not get so bogged down in any one thing that other things suffer. We had lots of discussions with James, and lots of discussions with Stéphane Ceretti, who's the visual effects supervisor for DC. You know, we worked hand to hand with them a lot, just iterating and iterating, and deciding that we wanted even less stuff in the environment, deciding that we want it to be even darker. Which surprised us, because James usually has a very vibrant palette. You know, his visuals are usually very lush and bright. So to get into this world and have him just take us into a darker area was interesting. But then you get to the River Pi where, you know, once again you're allowed to have light and color and vibrance, so it gave us an opportunity to really lean into the palette that James liked. But, I mean, that's all very considered. At all levels of the process, from the director all the way down to the artist, everybody's thinking about what they're doing and trying to figure out the best way to put it together. MH: You've done three with James Gunn so far, right? You did The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, right? GW: It's the third DC project with him. It's the fifth project with him… It might actually be one more. There's two Peacemakers, we just finished season two. There's The Suicide Squad and this [Superman], and then we did two Guardians of the Galaxy films with him. So we've actually done six films with James. MH: I'm a very big James Gunn fan, his movies have always spoken to me a lot because I a lot of my background growing up and things that influenced me were similar, and I especially love the Guardian movies for that reason. And I know when he comes in… he said before, he sees the film, the entire thing in his head, and he does his own storyboards. And I watched and looked at those behind-the-scenes things for Guardians, and it was incredible how much his storyboards resemble the final product. So as you've said, the best directors and the best to collaborate with really take that focused interest. I'm interested in how-- you mentioned Gunn going to the dark, so that darkness in the pocket universe allowed Superman then to be the light in that darkness, both figuratively in an aesthetic way, but also literally when the light bursts and he comes out of the cage. And then from that moment on, even though it's dark [in the pocket universe], the way we explore it is letting more light in, and then there's the river that's very visual. Was that kind of baked into the collaboration [right off the bat]? Like letting you know, 'I want this dark, it's going to be this way, but there's going to be these points of light and it's going to lead in this direction, so the visuals and the VFX are all telling that story together." GW: We didn't specifically talk about that. I mean, you'd have to talk to James to understand his direct motivations, but I never really considered the fact that when Superman's weak, the universe is dark and when Superman is strong, the universe, you know, for a variety of reasons, there's more light, whether it be Metamorpho creating the pocket sun or whether it be the River Pi. It is an interesting way to look at it. And then when Superman comes out of the pocket universe and he's really weak, once again you're in a dark tent and then in a dark area, and then once he wakes up, he's in a bright, sunny farm. So, look, you'd have to ask James, [but] it would not surprise me if all that was very choreographed. That's the kind of stuff that, you know, he and Henry would think through, but I can't speak to their motivations. MH: But it really does work well. How you all constructed that darkness, it allowed those moments to work and really kind of come out. So it just sort of feels very intuitive as you're watching it-- afterward you realize, 'Well naturally,' but as you're watching it, it's this organic progression of it all happening. Within that creative process, it fascinates me that some of it was mapped out and planned, but some of it probably was an outgrowth just naturally of that, without all of it having to be so particular and controlled and over over-processed, so to speak… like you said, [filmmakers] having that influence and they're really interested in the detail, but knowing to let you take that ball creatively, because you all do this. This is what you do, you build worlds. And it's especially in these kind of circumstances in his other films, the originality behind the math that went into looking at that pocket universe, and that progression in the story comparing the kaiju moments in the various films Wētā's done, because you worked with Sam Raimi on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as well, and I really like how… those same influences I think were inspiring both takes and both appeals. [It's] some of my favorite of the work that you do, actually. GW: I mean, to be totally transparent we're very much nerds. We love the emotion of the storytelling. We love the power of cinema. You know, cinema isn't just telling a story and putting some characters on the screen. The thing that's so amazing about people like James Gunn, Jim Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Sam Raimi -- all these amazing directors that we have an opportunity to work with – the thing that's so amazing about them is that they understand that sound, visual, acting, story, pacing, editing, lighting, everything is a part of the whole, right? And anything that's unconsidered detracts, and everything that's considered adds. It's one of my favorite parts about working in this industry is understanding, you know, often when we're talking to James he's not saying, 'I want that block to be gold, I want that block to be blue and make this purple.' He's not being that specific. He's being more emotional. You know, a good director doesn't talk about specifics. They talk about ideas. Oftentimes when we're getting into a situation where we're not quite hitting what he wants, we don't say, 'Tell us the block to fix.' We say, 'What feels wrong for you?' And it's because the end result is the emotions. So we often talk in terms of the emotion. Because then, you know, he's just like, 'It's too vibrant. This part of the movie, you know, I'm supposed to feel bad for Superman.' He'll say stuff like that, and then we'll all work together to drive down that path. Because, I mean, the thing that people don't understand when you're making anything, you often start from nothing. So it's not like we know what we're trying to get to. We're all working to craft the summation of the results so that when it's finished, it feels like it was always planned that way. And James's job is to be the guy sitting in front, dragging us all, you know, the composer bringing us all along. But we're all there to help and understand the emotion that you're talking about. Because if you don't, then the audience won't feel it. There's a small little sidebar here, which is, it's one thing to talk about making a scene feel a certain way. It's another thing-- one of the things we talk about all the time is readability. It's another thing to make sure that not only does it feel that way, but that everything you're adding emotionally doesn't detract from anything else. So as much as we might want to make it dark, we don't want it to be so dark that you can't see action. As much as we might want to keep the character moody, we don't want him to be so moody that you can't read his performance. It's always like, you want to push in a direction, but you've always got to be sympathetic to every other direction that you're trying to maintain. So a good result pushes all the walls as far out as they can go instead of pulling the walls towards the one point you're trying to get to. So it's an interesting game. It's an interesting process trying to figure out the best way through all that. MH: I imagine with somebody like James Gunn, when you talk about directing with emotion and what you're going for and the tone that you're trying to set there, he really directs from the heart more than most other filmmakersers, and especially in this genre. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and I think he's probably pound for pound probably one of the most self-aware filmmakakers and is willing to be earnest and honest about himself and what he wants and feels it. He's gotten so good at conveying that, and I think he very he's very intuitive about that. And I think he can sense when he's working with people that get it, and that it's why he likes to work with the same people a lot. So with your team – I'm not just trying to to blow rainbows and smoke up anyone's butt here, it's just that one of the reasons I really like doing this and talking with Wētā about this is because I love hearing what it's like working with these filmmakers, especially when they have such a powerful vision. And you're all so good at it. So it feels like Gunn knows he can hand that off to you. A lot of filmmakers don't necessarily know what they can and can't handle or hand off and that you're going to understand what his vibe is with that. And it's, as you said, it's because it's a filmmaker who knows what he wants, has that vision, and then he knows who he needs to work with that he can hand it off to… He knows when you do that pocket universe at the end, you're all doing your part and it comes out organically. It goes from that light to the darkness to that light and brings you out of it and it all evolves that way. And he knows he can trust you to get it without having to have all that, right? I'm sorry I'm so long-winded about it-- GW: No, no, look, genuinely, we loved it too. And like, that's. Being a professional, your job is to do 100% for everything that you do. I always talk to people that I'm working with and say, 'Treat every movie as if it's the one that wins you your Oscar.' So that even if you're working on just the most throwaway popcorn kind of 'people are going to forget it a year later' kind of movie, you still put your 100% into it. So as a professional, that's what you're supposed to do. I'm very fortunate that I've had a chance to work for some really good people. It gets easier when you feel that way from the start, right? You know, like, uh, it's one thing to be professional in a movie just because you're supposed to be professional. And with James, I mean, he's not just a director, right? He's a writer. He's, you know, he's a a visual storyteller. So he writes the entire script. He storyboards the entire movie. He has it all in his head. And one of the first things he'd do is, he'll share it with us. He'll share the script with us. He'll let us see the storyboards so we can start to get into that. And working with James is so amazing because it doesn't take very long -- especially with the way he writes – it doesn't take very long to tell what kind of, to use your word again because it's a really good word for this, what kind of vibe he's going for. It's not just the story or the look, it's the vibe. And it's so fascinating to work with these kinds of directors, and especially James James, that you know on day one where you're going with it. You know, the way I kind of often describe it is, you drink the punch on day one. You're hooked... Look, it's childishly fun to get to do some of these projects we do. James is very fun to work with because he has, you know he's going to go somewhere interesting with it. One of the things we tell the crew is, well, everybody else did their job. Now it's up to us not to f*** it up, because Henry shot some beautiful plates and the actors all showed up on the day, ready to give it their best. And James directed the s*** out of it. You know, all the pieces have come in at 100%, and we're one of the last cogs to sort of bring things together, us and editorial. So it's up to us not to diminish the result. It's up to us to only add as much as we can. It's that kind of thing that we have to be very cognizant of. It's hard to explain, but if everybody's doing so good, it puts a lot of pressure on you to live up to their promise… When I'm working on something, I try to figure out how to elevate it as much as I can… Our job isn't just to say, well, giant monster in a city, check. Here's your giant monster in a city. It's to try to figure out what the emotion of that scene is. The whole point of the kaiji fight isn't just from a storytelling point, it's to distract Superman so that Lex Luther can go break into the Fortress of Solitude. But from an emotional point, it's to show that Superman cares about everybody. Superman is such a noble being that even a squirrel is worthy of saving. …I'm just saying that's kind of our job is to do more. It's to not just show up and check the boxes and build a house to have four bedrooms because you ask for four bedrooms, but to style it in such a way that it just feels special. You know, one of the things we talk about often is special sauce. What's the special sauce we're going to add to this to really get it to lay in? And it's not just about adding complexity, it's about figuring out how to elevate the emotion just a little bit around the story, so that you obviously can read the story, but you're being very subconsciously told how to feel as you're reading it, you know, and that's a large part of what we do. MH: The kaiju is a perfect example of what you're saying, because that kaiju was so cute and adorable at first and likable-looking. And when it was doing destruction, it wasn't some big evil dragon that's drooling and was going to smash a kid on purpose. It was all framed in a way that allowed us to feel a different way toward it than we do toward other giant monsters, so that kind of feeds into what I said at the start about my sense that this movie is much more kid-friendly, like it seemed that at all times you were kind of thinking about either consciously or subtextually, 'Kids are going to see this.' All of those things, I think, worked and appeal not just to adults, but as you said, to the emotions of children and of the child within us as adults. And once again, if anyone knows exactly how to tap into that and knows how to hit that button in our heart, James Gunn probably better than anyone in super working in superhero cinema knows how to do that. s there any final takeaway from this film that you kind of think about, as far as for the future of DC in genera? Do you have any thoughts about, 'We're going to be doing more DC movies' and what that means? GW: I can't tell you exactly what DC is playing, or what James is playing at, because I'm not DC or James. I could tell you what we're looking at. I mean, I'm seeing what I've seen so far of their universe through Superman. So I'm eager to see what he does. I think one of the things that James does so brilliantly well is, he tells a story that we care about, right? You know, he has this ability to make you empathize with character characters. He's brilliant that black isn't always black and white isn't always white, and Superman makes mistakes. The kaiju's not an evil monster trying to step on a kid. It's all about the shades of gray and really getting into the storytelling of that. And, you know, that's what he's always done with his movies. And I'm really looking forward to him. One of the things I love about the whole DC experiment that's going on right now is that they put James in charge of it and uncaged him. Because one of the things that often constricts these kind of moments is when the studios get so involved in the storytelling that they sort of box in the director. But James being allowed to just be James. Look, once again, I'm not in charge of the studio, I can't tell you if he has total freedom or what. But, you know, on this film, he got to make the movie he wanted to make. And it shows. It's a fantastic movie. So I'm hopeful for the rest of the DC universe that that mentality will go into it. We'll see a lot lot of films that feel like they were made 20 or 30 years ago, back when directors had a lot more control over their process. So it'd be interesting to see how this all plays out… It's important to understand that filmmaking is not— it might be carried on the shoulders of something like James Gunn, but it all comes down to even the lowest-paid artist or the production coordinator, or a production assistant even, you know. Everybody plays such a valuable role in getting what you see on film… It is interesting to see so many talented, beautiful people come together and try to give the best of themselves to see a good result. And they're not doing it for cynicism, they're not doing it just to get a paycheck. They're doing it because they actually give a s*** about what they see in theaters. And we're talking thousands of people. It's also one of the most fun things about working in film, to be able to watch people do good. Yeah, it's almost like Superman. It's watching people do the best they can, to try to be the best people they can and doing selfless acts. We're all getting paid and we're all getting taken care of, but at the same time, we're doing it because we want to see good cinema. And we're doing it because we care about the person sitting next to us. And, you know, it's a good community to be a part of, and it's a good community to work with. And when everybody strikes the board just right, great cinema is made. Thanks to Guy Williams and the crew at Wētā for once again taking time to speak with me at length about their tremendous work. Read more of my interviews with Wētā about their work on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and A Minecraft Movie.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
James Gunn's ‘Superman' Cracks $300 Million At Domestic Box Office
Superman — James Gunn's Man of Steel tale starring David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan — just reached a big box office milestone as it heads into its fourth weekend in theaters. Written and directed by Gunn, Superman opened on July 11 and earned $125 million at the domestic box office in its first three-day frame from 4,135 theaters. The film marks the first DC Studios release from Gunn and his fellow co-CEO Peter Safran after they took over the division at Warner Bros. Forgoing the origin story route, Gunn's version of Superman picks up with Superman already a well-established force for good in Metropolis, along with Clark Kent a fixture at the Daily Planet and boyfriend of Brosnahan's Lois Lane. Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) sends Superman's life into a tailspin, however, when the tech billionaire finds a way to turn the public against the Krypton-born superhero. Superman crossed the $300 million mark at the domestic box office on Thursday with $2.6 million in ticket sales, boosting its 21-day tally to $302.3 million. Combined with its international gross of $225.6 million through Thursday, Superman has earned $527.6 million worldwide to date. Superman had a production budget of $225 million and a marketing budget of $125 million, according to Variety. 'Superman' And 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Are In A Tight Race For The Top Superhero Movie Of The Summer While Superman still has momentum three weeks in release, it's still uncertain whether it will be the superhero film that flies the highest at this summer's box office. Superman easily soared by Disney and Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts* a week into domestic theater run. Thunderbolts* (aka The New Avengers) is looking like it will wrap up its domestic run this weekend in a mere 20 venues (via The Numbers). The film has a running North American box office tally of $190.1 million. Disney/Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, however, has a shot at catching up with Superman, thanks to a solid domestic opening of $117.6 million from 4,125 North American screens. The Fantastic Four: First Steps heads into its second weekend with $158.4 million in domestic ticket sales and $99 million in international receipts for a worldwide box office tally of $257.4 million to date. Superman's theater count is dropping from 3,930 venues last week to 3,537 heading into its fourth weekend, per The Numbers. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is projected to easily win its second weekend at the domestic box office over three newcomers — the animated family comedy The Bad Guys 2, the action comedy The Naked Gun and the body horror thriller Together.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
How Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman and More Fared After Starring in the ‘Superman' Franchise
Some stars have found their roles to be kryptonite to their careers, while others have met more tragic endings. Christopher Reeve After flying high as the Man of Steel in four Superman films, Christopher was tragically thrown from his horse and paralyzed in 1995. He and devoted wife Dana used their fame to aid charities by pushing for more funding for paralysis cures. Christopher died of heart failure in 2004, and Dana died of lung cancer two years later. George Reeves TV's popular Man of Steel starred in Superman and the Mole Men and the series Adventures of Superman, but became depressed after being typecast and was unable to land other major roles. He was found dead at age 45 of a gunshot that was ruled suicide by officials, but theories have emerged that he may have been murdered. Brandon Routh The Man of Steel in 2006's Superman Returns has struggled to find work other than a few small film roles and TV guest appearances. In January, his Dexter star wife, Courtney Ford, slapped him with divorce papers and faster than a speeding bullet settled their marriage within weeks with them sharing joint custody of their 12-year-old son, Leo. Margot Kidder Margot, who played hard-nosed Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane in Christopher Reeve's four Superman movies, was left partially paralyzed from a devastating car crash in 1990. She eventually had to file for bankruptcy and suffered substance abuse issues. Margot died at age 69 from a drug and alcohol overdose in 2018. Gene Hackman The Lex Luthor to Christopher Reeve's Superman in three films, Gene's ending was horrific as authorities concluded that the Alzheimer's-stricken actor, 95, died at his New Mexico home about a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, passed there from a rare disease transmitted by rats. Their bodies weren't discovered for days. Dean Cain Having starred with Teri Hatcher on the TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993 to 1997, Dean, 59, has appeared in a few TV spots, a small film here and there, and comic conventions, then played Supergirl's father for six episodes on the TV series starring Melissa Benoist. Supergirl was canceled in 2021. Lee Quigley Londoner Lee was 7 months old when he played baby Kal-El in Christopher Reeve's 1978 blockbuster. His movie parents on Krypton were Marlon Brando and Susannah York, and he was the first non-American Superman. Lee fell into a troubled childhood and died inhaling solvents at the tender age of 14 in 1991. Tom Welling After his 10-season run as Superman/Clark Kent on the teen drama Smallville, Tom didn't find producers beating a path to his door with meaty job offers. In January, the 48-year-old actor was busted on DUI charges in California. He pleaded no contest to a lesser charge and was ordered to pay $619 in fines, $150 in restitution, and attend a DUI program. The DUI charge was dropped, and he was placed on one-year probation, per US Weekly. Solve the daily Crossword
