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Superman director James Gunn says 'anti-American sentiment' is harming Hollywood films overseas
James Gunn, DCU boss and Superman director, has shared his take on why many Hollywood films are underperforming outside North America.
The summer of blockbusters in Hollywood is underway. Even as F1, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and Superman have all had strong runs at the box office, there is concern about Hollywood's depleting impact outside of North America. Most big-budget Hollywood films, today, are doing better in the domestic market than worldwide, which wasn't the case a few years ago. Superman director and DC Studios co-chair James Gunn puts it down to 'a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world'.
On Hollywood films' performance overseas
By the end of its second weekend, Superman has earned $236 million in the domestic market (US and Canada), as compared to $173 million overseas. This 60-40 split is unusual for a movie of its size. Traditionally, big IP films have done better overseas than in North America.
Addressing this shift in an interview with The Rolling Stone, Gunn said, "Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a well-known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things. 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. So I think it’s just a matter of letting something grow. But again, for us, everything’s been a total win. Having the movie come out and be something that has been embraced by people everywhere — this is just the seed of the tree that Peter (Sarfran, the other DC Studios President) and I have been watering for the past three years. So to be able to have it start off so positively has been incredibly overwhelming."
Is Superman woke?
Many have felt that Superman is also not working globally as it is too political, even as fans of the character have pointed out that it has been political since its inception eight decades ago. That, however, hasn't stopped critics from labelling it woke, and many in Israel have even boycotted it. In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn said, "I've heard people say it was woke, and then I've heard a lot of people say it's not. I am curious as to what in the movie is considered woke. I think people took something I said...The guy for the London newspaper [Jonathan Dean of The Times]. Originally, he said that [Superman comic creators] Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were the sons of immigrants, and they wrote Superman as an immigrant story. And I said, yeah, it's a story about an immigrant, but mostly it's a story to me about kindness, which it is. That's the centre of the movie for me."
Despite all that, Superman is doing well at the box office. The film, the first in Gunn's new rebooted DC Universe, has grossed $409 million worldwide. It stars David Corenswet in the titular role, along with Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult.
