Latest news with #Gunn
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Anti-American sentiment' hurts 'Superman' at the international box office, James Gunn says
The DC Universe movie opened July 11. While the latest Superman has done incredibly well at home — to the tune of $253 million so far — the DC Universe movie hasn't flown quite so high in the rest of the world. Writer-director James Gunn has some theories about why. "Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a big, known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things," Gunn told Rolling Stone this week, after he was asked why superhero films don't seem to be connecting with international audiences the same way they are in the United States. "And it also affects things that we have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn't really helping us." The superhero film starring David Corenswet as the "Man of Steel, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, won the box office in a landslide in its second weekend in theaters. In addition to its staggering domestic haul, the DC Universe pic has raked in $173 million internationally, for a total of over $426 million globally, as of Wednesday, according to President Donald Trump's administration has shaken up the world order by, for instance, withdrawing from treaties or alliances with other countries. Last month, Pew Research Center found that overall views on the country have dimmed in his second term, although it's unclear how that plays into moviegoers' choices. But Gunn was hopeful. "We're definitely performing better domestically than we are internationally, but internationally is also rising and having really good weekday numbers in the same way we are," he said. "So obviously the word of mouth is very positive both here and everywhere else, which is the thing that we needed to do the most. At the same time, there are certain countries in which it's really performing well: Brazil and the U.K."The director of other superhero films, including Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and DC's The Suicide Squad, noted that Superman had already seen a lot of success. He found it "incredibly overwhelming." Gunn, who took over DC Studios alongside Peter Safran in November 2022, is rebooting the DC universe with interconnected movies and TV shows scheduled years out. The duo's master plan — dubbed "Gods and Monsters" — technically started with last year's animated series Creature Commandos on Max. Though the show isn't crucial to the bigger picture, Superman and season 2 of Max original series Peacemaker (premiering Aug. 21) are "both pretty important in terms of getting to the bigger story," Gunn told EW for our June cover feature. The next DCU film queued for release is Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, starring Milly Alcock as Kal-El's cousin Kara Zor-El, on June 26, 2026, and a Wonder Woman movie is "being written right now," Gunn said. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Euronews
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Is the new ‘Superman' film about Gaza?
The newest 'Superman' film has now grossed over $406.8 million (€345.65 million) worldwide and has been a runaway box office hit. The story follows the superhero to the fictional US-backed country of Boravia, which is attempting to occupy neighbouring impoverished Jarhanpur, which is also fictional. Some posts online claim that the imagery in the film is highly reminiscent of images from Gaza. People making these claims reference scenes such as one where a child holds a flag in the face of an invasion, and elements such as a border fence against a landscape that looks like the Palestinian territory. Boravia conducts a high-tech military operation against Jarhanpur, whose inhabitants are portrayed by Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Black actors. Meanwhile, the Boravians are played by white actors. The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles appeared to respond to the film with two Facebook posts reading 'Real Superheroes' alongside images that seem to be of the Israeli army. Production started before 7 October However, production, costume design, and casting for 'Superman' actually began in April 2023. Meanwhile, storyboarding took place in May, and screen tests took place in June; all before Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. James Gunn, the American director of 'Superman', has also said in interviews that the script was completed before 7 October. He has insisted that there are no direct references to Israel and Palestine. Gunn did concede that the movie is 'about politics", but that the film is mainly about morality and kindness. However, filming did begin on 29 February 2024, which was after the attacks on 7 October 2023. Despite this uncertainty about the link between the film and what is happening in Gaza, viewers are sharing their thoughts on Reddit on the ways that the film has played a part in changing how they view what is taking place in Gaza.
Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Superman got ghosted by the world, and Donald Trump might be the reason: Why James Gun thinks ‘The Man of Steel is not everyone's hero'
James Gunn's DC reboot with David Corenswet may have hit home with American audiences, but globally, the director feels the film's been caught in the crossfire of anti-U.S. vibes. Despite decent international numbers and the emotional reinvention of Superman working in its favour, the movie's still underperforming abroad, and that's clearly bothering Gunn. Domestically, it raked in a solid $253 million, but the overseas buzz just isn't matching up. 'Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He's not as big as Batman in some countries, and that affects things,' Gunn told Rolling Stone, responding to why the film isn't quite landing with global audiences like it did in the U.S. Also read: Is the new Superman movie 'too woke' or just true to its origins? Globally, Superman made around $173 million, according to The numbers have been dropping since, and James Gunn seems to think it's the 'anti-American' wave dragging the film down. 'We have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn't really helping us,' he told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. Also read: Superman: James Gunn's idea of an India-coded country is regressive and riddled with stereotypes; the Man of Steel wouldn't stand for it The film stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and has received glowing reviews from critics. But let's be honest, without fan-favourite Henry Cavill, some slowdown was inevitable. Still, Gunn gambled with a fresh face in David Corenswet and expected the world to instantly buy in. Didn't exactly pan out. And his recent statement has the internet asking, did Trump's global PR mess play a part? Since his return as the 47th president, he's withdrawn the U.S. from treaties and made trade and tariff moves that were scrutinised globally. Pew Research's latest says global sentiment towards the U.S. has dropped badly in Trump's second term, but whether that's affecting moviegoers is still up for debate. That said, Gunn is still hopeful. It's day 12 of Superman in theatres, already up against Fantastic Four, and he's still keeping the faith. 'We're doing better domestically, but international numbers are starting to rise too. Weekday numbers have been solid. Word of mouth is working,' he said. 'There are countries where it's actually performing well, like Brazil and the U.K.'
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
I was missing the squirrel: James Gunn on ‘Superman' moment he fought for
There is a key moment in James Gunn's Superman where the superhero saves a small squirrel while it is being attacked by a rampaging Kaiju monster in Metropolis - a moment that the first screening test audience hated. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Gunn revealed that he fought to put the scene back on because according to him, it showed the empathetic and kind side of the Man of Steel. 'It was probably the second or third most hotly debated moment in the movie.' Gunn said. 'We showed it to test audiences and some people did not like the squirrel. They asked, 'Why is he saving a squirrel? Why is he taking time out, saving a squirrel?'' Gunn shared, 'There was a cut where I cut it out and I'm like, 'I really miss the squirrel. He's got to save the squirrel.' In addition, there were also some geographic problems with where he ended up if I didn't have him fly over with the squirrel. So I put the squirrel back in despite the protests of some people on my crew.' Previously in an interview with the New York Times, Gunn had said, 'A lot of people were anti-squirrel. They thought it was too much. And I think it really comes down to, do you like squirrels or not?' Test screen audiences have also regularly complained that the pacing in Gunn's films is 'too fast'. 'When you test movies, especially in the early test screenings, one of the main questions they ask is, 'Is it too slow? Is it too fast? Is it just right?' And my movies have always had an overabundance of 'too fast' compared to 'too slow',' revealed the director. Defending his choices, Gunn explained, 'I'm not indulgent. I just don't care about my little precious moments that are so important to me in making a movie. I want to create something that's as streamlined as possible, and if that means I go too fast, sometimes I do. And so it really is about pulling back.' Test screenings have become a regular process for studio films. However, they do not always reflect public taste. For example, Marvel director Kevin Feige once hyped up Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania by commenting, 'Jonathan Majors, playing the villain Kang, was the highest-testing villain we've ever had in any of our 'friends and families' [screenings].'' Despite this, the theatre audience remained unimpressed. The film flopped at the box office with $476 million worldwide and became one of Marvel's lowest grossers. Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
What 'Superman' Says About Gaza—And Us
When audiences left early screenings of James Gunn's new Superman, many carried more than popcorn and superhero nostalgia—they carried the unmistakable feeling that they had just watched a parable of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And that, in itself, says something profound. Despite fierce controversy and calls for boycott by some pro-Israel commentators, Superman is topping the box office charts, making over $220 million globally during its opening weekend. Gunn has repeatedly insisted that Superman is not about the Middle East. "When I wrote this the Middle Eastern conflict wasn't happening," he told The Times of London. He emphasized that the fictional war between Boravia and Jarhanpur was crafted before the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and Israel's ensuing war on Gaza. He even said he tried to steer the narrative away from Middle Eastern analogies once real-world violence erupted. And yet, despite these denials, the allegory has taken hold. Why? Because the movie's central dynamic—a powerful, U.S.-backed aggressor invading a poor, largely defenseless neighbor—is all too familiar. Boravia, with its military might, international impunity, and stated mission to "liberate" Jarhanpur from supposed tyranny, mirrors in disturbing ways Israel's ongoing bombardment and occupation of Gaza. The imagery is searing: tanks and drones lining up at a border fence, a young boy clutching a national flag as civilians scatter in fear, and a so-called "just war" increasingly exposed as a campaign of domination. That such scenes resonated so strongly with viewers is not the fault of the audience's "left-wing brain," as Ben Shapiro dismissively put it—it is a reflection of the moral clarity that emerges when oppression is laid bare, even in fictional form. Online, the reaction was swift and divided. Some called it the most "openly pro-Palestine" content to ever appear in a blockbuster. TikTok creators, influencers, and activists lauded the film's unflinching portrayal of invasion and resistance, with one user declaring, "Superman is antizionist and leaves no room for doubt." Others—particularly in right-wing circles—branded it "Superwoke," accusing Gunn of injecting ideology into entertainment. Whether or not the film was meant to be about Israel and Palestine, it functioned as a kind of cinematic Rorschach test. When seeing injustice portrayed on the screen, viewers brought with them the images that have been burned into global consciousness after nearly two years of siege on Gaza—images of children killed, hospitals bombed, and international law flouted with impunity. When you witness a conflict where one side wields F-35s and the other buries its dead in mass graves, any story of asymmetrical warfare will inevitably call Palestine to mind. LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: James Gunn, David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult and Peter Safran attend the "Superman" Fan Event in London's Leicester Square on July 02, 2025 in London, England. LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: James Gunn, David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult and Peter Safran attend the "Superman" Fan Event in London's Leicester Square on July 02, 2025 in London, be clear, Superman is not a perfect political text. The film's Jarhanpurians—coded as Middle Eastern or South Asian—are largely passive. One of the few named Jarhanpurian characters is a falafel vendor, Malik, who serves as emotional fuel for Superman's arc before being killed off. As The Forward noted, the Jarhanpurians' purpose is less to assert their own dignity than to highlight the hero's morality. And so, while some audiences saw pro-Palestinian messaging, others rightly questioned whether the film reinscribes a savior narrative—centered on a white alien-immigrant superhero—rather than empowering the oppressed to resist on their own terms. Indeed, as Middle East Eye pointedly observed, Palestinians are not waiting for a white superhero to rescue them. The real heroes are the medics treating the wounded under rubble, the journalists livestreaming amidst bomb blasts, and the people who keep marching for their right to exist. Superman may deliver lines about morality, kindness, and justice, but in the real world, those words are being lived by people with far less privilege and far greater courage. Still, the film revealed how deeply the public has absorbed the reality of Gaza, how far sympathy for Palestinians has spread beyond Arab or Muslim audiences, and how badly establishment media and politicians have underestimated this shift. When a Warner Brothers tentpole provokes hashtags like "#SupermanIsHamas," it is not because the film is agitprop—it's because the world now sees Gaza everywhere. Even Gunn's framing of Superman as "an immigrant" touched off fierce debate, with conservative pundits recoiling at the suggestion that a refugee from Krypton could embody the American immigrant story. But that, too, is part of the tension: if Superman is a refugee who stands up to bullies, who uses his power to shield the powerless, then what happens when audiences draw connections between that ethos and the very people being demonized by Western governments? The film doesn't just expose geopolitical parallels—it exposes cultural contradictions. America wants to believe in Superman's values, but recoils when those values are applied consistently, especially when they implicate allies like Israel. It wants to celebrate rebellion in fiction but criminalize resistance in reality. And it wants to embrace immigrants in theory while deporting, detaining, and defunding them in practice. That's why Superman matters—not because it offers a perfect analogy for Gaza, but because it unintentionally lays bare the moral hypocrisy at the heart of so much political discourse. The discomfort it generates is revealing. When people see children under fire and think immediately of Gaza, the problem isn't that the film is too political—it's that reality is too brutal to ignore. This isn't the first time a Hollywood film has echoed global struggles, and it won't be the last. But what's different now is the speed and intensity with which audiences connect the dots—and the growing unwillingness to let sanitized narratives obscure the truth. Even in the heart of a superhero spectacle, people are demanding moral clarity. In the end, Gunn may not have set out to make a film about Palestine. But the world saw Gaza in it anyway. And that, in itself, is a kind of justice. Faisal Kutty is a Toronto-based lawyer, law professor, and frequent contributor to The Toronto Star. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
