Superman Tops Black Adam After Full Week On Nielsen, Outperforms Marvel

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James Gunn’s Superman movie is starting to gain traction on streaming, although overall numbers remain somewhat low. According to Nielsen data from the week of September 22nd to 28th, Superman on HBO Max was watched for a total of 569 million minutes, making it the second most popular movie on the platform.

Viewers watched a total of over 1.08 billion minutes of the film in its first ten days, averaging 108 million minutes each day. The first three days accounted for 513 million minutes (171 million daily), after which viewership decreased to 81 million minutes per day. This drop is common for streaming content as initial interest wanes.

James Gunn can take some comfort in the fact that Superman performed better than Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. While Black Adam initially had a stronger opening, earning 632 million viewing minutes in its first three days, its popularity quickly declined. It didn’t even make the Top 10 most-watched titles in its second week, despite the lowest-ranking film earning 499 million minutes. Black Adam did reappear on the list the following week, but with a much lower 333 million minutes.

Superman Edges Marvel’s Latest Streaming Hits

While Superman had a good number of viewers, it’s worth considering that recent Marvel shows on Disney+ haven’t been as popular, so the comparison isn’t necessarily a huge achievement.

Captain America: Brave New World had a strong start, racking up 750 million minutes of viewing time over its first four days. It then added another 304 million minutes in its second week, bringing the eleven-day total to 1.05 billion minutes. This averages out to 96 million minutes watched each day.

The new show Thunderbolts quickly gained popularity, racking up 702 million minutes of viewing time in its first five days. It added another 368 million minutes in the following week, bringing the total to 1.07 billion minutes over twelve days. This averages out to about 89 million minutes watched each day.

James Gunn’s Superman movie had more overall daily views than both Marvel films, although Marvel still generated more initial excitement and had stronger opening numbers.

A Cautious Win for Gunn’s DCU

Although Superman earned more money each day than Black Adam and the latest Marvel films (which haven’t performed well), it’s not considered a huge hit yet.

The film’s numbers show heavy front-loading and a quick drop-off, mirroring its box office run.

I’ve been following the numbers for Superman, and while it’s made $615 million worldwide, it didn’t do that well internationally. Honestly, the recent boost in streaming views feels like a small improvement, not a full comeback for what James Gunn is building with the DCU.

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2025-10-24 04:31