NEW YORK (AP) — In a bid to kickoff a new era for DC Studios, James Gunn’s “Superman” opened with $122 million in U.S. and Canada ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
DC and Warner Bros. had a lot riding on “Superman.” While the Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios has had its own share of struggles, the superheroes of DC have recently found mostly kryptonite in theaters. Films like “Joker: Folie à Deux,” “The Flash” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” all flopped.
But “Superman,” written and directed by Gunn, is intended as a new start. It’s the first release fully steered by Gunn and Peter Safran, co-heads of DC Studios, since they were handed the keys to DC’s superhero cinematic universe.
And while Gunn turned “Guardians of the Galaxy” into a massive success for Marvel, his irreverent, idiosyncratic touch made the director — once a B-movie filmmaker with Troma Entertainment — an unlikely steward for one of the movies’ most bankable and beloved brands.
The roughly on-target opening was the third largest of 2025, and the first DC title to surpass $100 million in its opening weekend since “Wonder Woman” in 2017. Warner Bros. could also celebrate a unique hot streak: “Superman” is their fifth movie in a row to open over $45 million.
“It's quite a win for DC Studios,” said Jeffrey Goldstein, chief of distribution for Warner Bros. “We needed to get the trust of the fanbase, and we didn't have it. They were clear to us that we needed to take a step back and reinvent ourselves.”
Ticket sales were relatively soft for “Superman” overseas. In 78 international markets, it grossed $95 million. In China, it collected just $6.6 million.
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, called the international performance the only ding against the otherwise strong “Superman” debut.
“Thus far, the foreign openings are not equal to domestic," said Gross. "Superman has always been identified as a quintessentially American character and story, and in some parts of the world, America is currently not enjoying its greatest popularity.”
As an American icon, “Superman” also attracted political discourse at home. Some right-wing commentators criticized the movie as “woke” after Gunn described the superhero from Krypton as “an immigrant.” On X, the White House posted an image of President Donald Trump as Superman.
In “Superman,” which cost about $225 million to make, Gunn steers the Man of Steel in a drastically different tonal direction than in previous iterations from filmmaker Zack Snyder. Skipping the Kansas origin story, the film instead picks up with Superman ( David Corenswet ) after his first defeat. Rachel Brosnahan plays Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult is Lex Luthor.
The “Superman” debut didn’t come close to besting the $166 million launch for Snyder’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” in 2016. But it did open higher, not accounting for inflation, than Snyder’s “Man of Steel.” That film debuted with $116 million in 2013.
But while Snyder’s films were often unloved by critics, largely good reviews greeted Gunn’s “Superman.” On Rotten Tomatoes, it scored 82% fresh — the best for the franchise since the first two movies with Christopher Reeve: “Superman” (1978) and “Superman II” (1980). Audiences gave it an “A-” CinemaScore.
“Superman” faced sizeable competition too. Last week’s top film, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” slid to second place with $40 million. With “Superman” soaking up many large-format screens, Universal Pictures’ seventh “Jurassic” film slipped a steep 57% from its opening weekend. Starring Scarlett Johansson, “Jurassic World Rebirth” got off to a thunderous $318.3 million global start. In two weeks, it’s amassed $529.5 million worldwide.
Also still in the mix is Apple Studios’ biggest box-office success yet, “F1.” Joseph Kosinski’s Formula One action thriller, starring Brad Pitt, came in third with $13 million in its third weekend. The film, distributed by Warner Bros., has collected $393.4 million globally in three weeks. But it also carries a hefty price tag of roughly $250 million, plus at least $100 million in promotion.
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Superman,” $122 million.
2. “Jurassic World Rebirth,” $40 million.
3. “F1: The Movie,” $13 million.
4. “How to Train Your Dragon,” $7.8 million.
5. “Elio,” $3.9 million.
6. “28 Years Later,” $2.7 million.
7. “Lilo & Stitch,” $2.7 million.
8. “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” $1.5 million.
9. “M3gan 2.0,” $1.4 million.
10. “Materialists,” $720,498.
James Gunn arrives at the premiere of "Superman" on Monday, July 7, 2025, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Rachel Brosnahan poses for photographers upon arrival at a fan screening of Superman, on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
HAVANA (AP) — Trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport Thursday as white-gloved Cuban soldiers marched out of a plane carrying urns with remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela.
Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The soldiers' shoes clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and placed the urns on a long table next to the pictures of those killed. Tens of thousands of people paid their respects, saluting the urns or holding their hand over their heart, many of them drenched from standing outside in a heavy downpour.
Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized over the past half-century.
The soldiers were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the Jan. 3 raid on his residence to seize the former leader and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.
State television also showed images of more than a dozen people it said were wounded combatants from the raid, accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez after arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.
Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. have spiked, with Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.
Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those killed looking on nearby.
Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas called the slain soldiers “heroes” of an anti-imperialist struggle spanning both Cuba and Venezuela. In an apparent reference to the U.S., he said the “enemy” speaks of “high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy.
“We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother,” Álvarez said.
The events demonstrate that “imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.
Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, was among the thousands of Cubans who lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.
“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” Gómez said, adding that she hopes no one invades her country. “It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”
The 32 military personnel ranged in age from 26 to 60 and were part of protection agreements between the two countries.
Officials in Cuba have said they expect a massive demonstration Friday across from the U.S. Embassy to protest the deaths.
“People are upset and hurt ... many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.
In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes.
In December 1989, officials organized a ceremony to honor the more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in a war that defeated the South African army.
In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.
The latest mass burial is critical to honor those slain, said José Luis Piñeiro, a 60-year-old doctor who lived for four years in Venezuela.
“I don’t think Trump is crazy enough to come and enter a country like this, ours, and if he does, he’s going to have to take an aspirin or some painkiller to avoid the headache he’s going to get,” Piñeiro said. “These were 32 heroes who fought him. Can you imagine an entire nation? He’s going to lose.”
The remains arrived a day after the U.S. announced $3 million in additional aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa. The first flight took off on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.
Cuba had said on Wednesday that any contributions will be channeled through the government.
But U.S. State Department foreign assistance official Jeremy Lewin said Thursday that the U.S. was working with Cuba’s Catholic Church to distribute aid, as part of Washington's efforts to give assistance directly to the Cuban people.
“There’s nothing political about cans of tuna and rice and beans and pasta,” he said Thursday, warning that the Cuban government should not intervene or divert supplies. “We will be watching, and we will hold them accountable.”
Lewin said the Cuban government has a choice to: “Step down or better provide towards people.” Lewin added that “if there was no regime,” the U.S. would provide “billions and billions of dollars” in assistance, as well as investment and development: “That’s what lies on the other side of the regime for the Cuban people.”
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said the U.S. government was “exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes.”
Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
People line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the remains are on display of the Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, as it sprinkles rain in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Military members line up outside the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro, are on display in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Military members pay their last respects to Cuban officers who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces where the urns containing the remains are displayed during a ceremony in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Soldiers carry urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Adalberto Roque /Pool Photo via AP)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A motorcade transports urns containing the remains of Cuban officers, who were killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People line the streets of Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, to watch the motorcade carrying urns containing the remains of Cuban officers killed during the U.S. operation in Venezuela that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
