It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's A MAGA Boycott Movement Taken Down: Superman Wins Box Office

New superhero movie "Superman" won the weekend's box office, coming in ahead of most estimates, which may be all the more impressive given the call for boycotts over the movie's immigrant plot line.

What Happened: The DC Comics unit of Warner Bros. Discovery WBD has a new hit film on its hands in hopes that the company's film universe can rise again.

"Superman" grossed $125 million domestically and $95 million during its opening weekend, good for a global haul of $220 million, as reported by Variety.

The film's domestic total came in line with estimates of $120 million to $130 million ahead of the weekend and beat a $100 million to $110 million estimate from the movie studio.

The opening total of $125 million makes "Superman" the third-highest opening domestically in 2025, trailing only "Minecraft" at $162 million and "Lilo & Stitch" at $146 million. The movie's opening box office also surpasses the $116.0 million from "Man of Steel" in 2013, the last standalone Superman film.

"Superman's" box office totals, coming in ahead of studio estimates and in range with most experts, could be impressive given the criticism the film and director James Gunn faced in recent weeks.

The new superhero movie was called "woke" by actor Dean Cain, who famously played Superman in the TV show "Lois & Clark" from 1993 to 1997.

“How woke is Hollywood going to make this character?” Cain told TMZ. “How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why are they going to change their characters (to) exist for the times?”

Cain’s comments, reported by Variety, follow Gunn’s statement that Superman is an “immigrant that came from other places and populated the country” in the film, adding that the film represents “the story of America.”

“For Superman, it was ‘truth, justice, and the American way.’ Well, they dropped that…They came up with ‘truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.’ Changing beloved characters I don’t think is a great idea. If you want to create a new character go ahead and do that,” Cain also said.

Cain predicted the immigrant plot line was a mistake that would have financial ramifications.

"I think it's going to hurt the numbers on the movie."

Cain wasn't the only one speaking out about the film's plot line, in which Superman was portrayed as an immigrant. Allies of Donald Trump's Make America Great Again movement called for a boycott over the film's immigration-themed plot.

Fox News has been referencing the film as "SuperWoke" in recent weeks. Fox News contributor Kellyanne Conway criticized the film's plot line.

“We don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us,” Conway said.

Gunn has brushed off the criticism ahead of the film’s release.

“I think this is a movie about kindness and I think that’s something everyone can relate to,” Gunn said.

The potential boycott and the film being called woke put pressure on Gunn and Warner Bros. Discovery ahead of the release. Disney previously received criticism for being perceived as "woke" with several recent movie releases, such as "Snow White," which could potentially hurt box office results.

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Why It's Important: The success of "Superman" in the face of boycotts could bode well for Warner Bros. Discovery.

The film has received positive reactions from critics and fans, which could help the film's box office in the coming weeks. This comes at a cost of $225 million for the film’s production budget and $100 million for its marketing budget.

Gunn and Peter Safran took over the task of leading DC Studios in 2022 after the Warner unit released several box office duds.

"The DC vision is clear, the momentum is real, and I couldn't be more excited for what's ahead," Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said after the film's success.

The future of DC Studios films includes a 10-year plan of films and spinoffs, such as "Supergirl" and "Clayface," both set for 2026 releases.

Warner Bros. and Zaslav are hoping that Gunn can replicate some of the magic he had with the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise for Disney, bringing DC Studios closer to the box office success that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has achieved for Disney.

WBD Price Action: Warner Bros. stock was up 2.4% to $12.01 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $6.64 to $12.70.

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Photo: John B Hewitt / Shutterstock.com