2025 has seen a big debate between DC audience members when it comes to whether James Gunn’s Superman or Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was the better film for Krypton’s last son. While the DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” saw David Corenswet bring the DC icon back to the big screen, the comparisons were always going to be made with Henry Cavill’s entry from 2013.
The @_DCCBRASIL account recently caught an Instagram reel that Zack Snyder had liked that was specifically about the box office differences between Superman and Man of Steel. ..., translated from Portuguese, says: “Director Zack Snyder liked a post comparing Man of Steel and James Gunn Superman’s box offices.”
The original Instagram reel came from @badsantagamingg, which was shared on August 18, 2025, where it compared the box office runs, as Superman had only been in theaters for a month at that time. The reel came with the caption, “Just going to leave this here,” while showing the two projects’ financial gross.
Snyder joined Instagram on September 26, 2025, more than a month after @badsantagamingg’s reel was shared. The account that officially liked ... was by Snyder’s now-verified page. The ticket prices for the DC Studios entry that the reel was pulling from were via Cinemark, at $16.08.
In terms of Man of Steel’s $8.13 ticket price, the average cost went up to those numbers in 2013 (via The Hollywood Reporter,) which is when Snyder’s film was originally released. At the time of this story’s publication, the DCEU filmmaker hasn’t commented on his social media activity.
When it comes to the Superman vs Man of Steel box office discussion, it’s worth remembering that since the reel’s posting, Gunn’s film finished its theatrical run with $616.7 million at the worldwide box office. Snyder’s project grossed $670.1 million, which only leaves the difference between the two at $53.4 million (not adjusted for inflation.)
Following the Superman movie ending, the Corenswet film outperformed Cavill’s project in the domestic market, as the 2025 movie grossed $354.1 million in the U.S. while the 2013 entry collected $291 million. Internationally, however, Snyder’s DCEU installment collected $379.1 million while Gunn’s DCU reboot landed $262.5 million outside the U.S.
In a report from Forbes on November 8, 2025, it was revealed that Superman was profitable for DC Studios, hence the greenlight for Man of Tomorrow. The film has also enjoyed tremendous success on HBO Max since it arrived on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streaming platform.
The Man of Tomorrow movie is set to begin principal photography in 2026, with Brainiac as the villain. Corenswet will reprise the role of Superman, with Nicholas Hoult also returning as Lex Luthor, as the two DC rivals will have to team up against the famous DC antagonist.
A spinoff project is also in development at DC Studios, starring the DCU’s Jimmy Olsen from the 2025 film. Superman and Man of Steel are both available through streaming and home media release.