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The DC Universe‘s vast cinematic history has led to several heroes receiving box office success, but how do they rank against each other? DC’s live-action feature film history stretches back to 1951, with Superman and the Mole-Men kickstarting the long line of movies based on superheroes in the DC world. Since then, there have been several franchises featuring DC characters, from the order of movies in the DCEU to the many different franchises featuring the brand’s most popular heroes.
There is no denying that some of the more commonly featured heroes include Batman and Superman, with many highly-ranked Batman movies being released over the decades. The same can be said for Superman, with the upcoming list of DCU movies and shows from James Gunn continuing this trend by centering around the Man of Steel. However, where DC’s other heroes are concerned, box office success has ranged from lucrative to flat-out unprofitable. With that in mind, here is how DC’s highest-grossing heroes have fared at the box office against one another, with figures from The Numbers.
The following list is ranked lowest-grossing to highest, discounts appearances in team-up movies, and pertains only to movies of DC heroes in live-action.
10 Blue Beetle – $130,788,072
1 Live-Action Movie In DC History
Despite being the second-most recent live-action DC hero to receive a feature film, Blue Beetle is the 10th highest-grossing character in the franchise’s history. Given that Blue Beetle was deemed a commercial failure, this puts into perspective how poor DC heroes have performed as a whole in the brand’s cinematic history. In 2023, Blue Beetle was released starring Xolo Meridueña in the titular role, and told the story of Jaime Reyes, a younger iteration of the character from DC Comics.
The film received positive reviews, pleasing fans and critics alike. This led many to wonder whether Blue Beetle would continue into upcoming DC movies, something James Gunn has since confirmed. Despite that, Blue Beetle was mostly unsuccessful at the box office, grossing a worldwide total of $130,788,072 against a budget of $100-125 million. This worldwide total sums up the character of Blue Beetle’s entire box office haul, given that 2023’s film was the first to feature the character.
9 Green Lantern – $219,535,492
1 Live-Action Movie In DC History
Another DC hero who has only had one live-action movie in DC’s history is Green Lantern. The DCU will not even change this in the near future, with James Gunn instead opting for a Green Lantern series titled Lanterns instead of a feature film. As such, this makes the Ryan Reynolds-led Green Lantern from 2011 the sole box office earner for the DC hero regarding live-action iterations, again highlighting how someone as popular as Green Lantern may have deserved more movies.
The Green Lantern movie was the opposite of Blue Beetle in terms of critical reception. The former is considered one of the worst DC comic book movies ever made and failed to recoup much of a profit, if any, at the worldwide box office. Green Lantern cost $200 million to produce, earning just less than $220 million worldwide by the end of its theatrical run. As with Blue Beetle, this gross gives the character of Green Lantern his only box office haul in DC history.
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8 Constantine – $221,593,554
1 Live-Action Movie In DC History
A surprise inclusion on this list is the character of Constantine, who ranks as the eighth-most successful DC hero at the box office. The reason for this surprise also comes from the fact that Constantine only has one live-action movie to his name which was from 2005 rather than a more recent effort like Green Lantern and Blue Beetle. Constantine starred Keanu Reeves in the titular role, and while it is a fun enough movie, it is somewhat unfaithful to the source material,
Nonetheless, Constantine was a bigger box office success than the two aforementioned movies. The film cost $70-100 million to produce and earned a worldwide total of around $220 million. Interestingly, the hero John Constantine will receive another live-action movie in the DCU’s future as an Elseworlds project, meaning this and the 2005 effort – alongside the overall lack of successful movies based on DC heroes outside of the Justice League – will continue to see the character ranked as one of the most successful in the brand’s cinematic history.
7 The Flash – $266,550,332
1 Live-Action Movie In DC History
Despite the Flash being one of the most popular heroes in DC Comics, the character has only received one solo live-action film. This came in 2023 with its share of controversy. Not only did The Flash make its way through several writing and directing teams, but its lead star, Ezra Miller, was wrapped up in endless scandals as the movie was being produced.
Regardless of production issues, The Flash was released in the summer of 2023 and earned just less than $270 million worldwide. The film’s $220 million budget saw this deemed a failure and effectively ended hopes of another installment if the impending reboot of James Gunn’s DCU had not already done so. With its $266 million gross, The Flash gave the DC character his only earnings in DC box office history, though enough to rank him as the brand’s seventh-most successful hero.
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6 Black Adam – $390,445,088
1 Live-Action Movie In DC History
The final DC hero with only one live-action film under their belt is Black Adam. Black Adam spawned out of the relative success of 2019’s Shazam!, with lead actor Dwayne Johnson looking to play the character for over a decade before the film entered production. Johnson hoped Black Adam would lead to a new era for DC in film, though its subsequent failure fed into the decision to reboot the DCEU as Gunn’s DCU.
Black Adam
gives the DC hero a $390 million haul, making him the sixth-most successful from the source material…
Black Adam was released in 2022 and earned a respectable $390 million worldwide. However, its budget was reported to have reached as high as $260 million, meaning Black Adam was a commercial failure, and the film offered little to write home about critically. Given the long period of development hell before Black Adam‘s release and the aforementioned DCU reboot being ordered after, Black Adam gives the DC hero a $390 million haul, making him the sixth-most successful from the source material.
5 Shazam! – $495,842,082
2 Live-Action Movies In DC History
The first DC hero on this list to have two live-action movies is Shazam. The hero has been the lead character of Shazam! in 2019 and Shazam! Fury of the Gods in 2023. The first movie was more successful than its sequel, both critically and commercially. Shazam! earned a worldwide total of $363 million, rendering it a box office hit. This, alongside its strong critical reception, saw Shazam! Fury of the Gods greenlit.
The second movie was released in 2023 alongside fellow DC efforts The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Shazam! 2 faltered at the box office, however, earning only $132 million worldwide against a $110-125 million budget. Combining the two totals sees the hero’s earnings rise to $495 million, ranking Shazam as the fifth-most successful DC hero in the franchise’s live-action history.
4 Wonder Woman – $984,051,998
2 Live-Action Movies In DC History
With the first six entries on this list proving how most studios have failed to represent the majority of DC’s heroes in live-action, the top four prove how certain characters hold the most sway. The fourth-most successful DC hero in the franchise’s history is Wonder Woman. Despite her immense popularity, Wonder Woman has only had two movies in live-action history: 2017’s Wonder Woman and 202’s Wonder Woman 1984.
It is primarily the success of 2017’s Wonder Woman that allows the character to rank as highly as she does on this list. This movie earned a worldwide total of $817 million, yet its sequel was released amid the COVID-19 pandemic, slumping to a $166 million haul. As such, the 2017 movie does a lot of the heavy lifting in making Wonder Woman a successful DC character, though she is only expected to earn more profits as Gunn’s DCU gets underway.
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3 Aquaman – $1,565,695,266
2 Live-Action Movies In DC History
Aquaman is undoubtedly a popular character in DC Comics as a member of the Justice League, but his online perception has often seen him labeled as a joke. This caused a drastic change in his depiction in live-action films, as Jason Momoa was cast as the king of Atlantis. As it turns out, this move paid off for DC, with the character even ranking above Wonder Woman as the third-most successful hero in DC history.
Similar to Wonder Woman, it is one of Aquaman’s two live-action movies that contributes to this success more than the other. The first Aquaman, released in 2018, grossed a massive $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the only movie in the entire DC Extended Universe to do so. The sequel – 2023’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – was still successful with a $433 million worldwide gross, granting the character of Aquaman a highly respectable $1.5 billion total and the bronze medal regarding DC’s most profitable heroes.
2 Superman – $2,538,975,801
7 Live-Action Movies In DC History
As alluded to previously, the characters of Superman and Batman are the two most popular in DC’s live-action history. Every other hero on this list has one or two live-action movies, whereas Superman has seven: four starring Christopher Reeve, one starring Brandon Routh, and two starring Henry Cavill. These movies have all combined to make Superman the second-highest-grossing DC hero in live-action history, with his total haul only expected to grow with the release of James Gunn’s Superman in 2025.
The highest-grossing Superman movie is actually one starring Batman too, 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which grossed $872 million worldwide. 2013’s Man of Steel earned around $667 million three years prior, with Brandon Routh’s Superman Returns grossing $391 million in 2006. In total, the Christopher Reeve movies earned just over $600 million collectively, combining to give Superman his $2.5 billion worldwide gross as DC’s second-highest earner.
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1 Batman – $5,338,060,215
9 Live-Action Movies In DC History
Far and away the highest-earning DC hero in the franchise’s history is Batman. More so than any other character, Batman has had many live-action actors, franchises, and movies, all combining to make the hero the most lucrative from a DC standpoint. Two Batman movies have earned $1 billion at the worldwide box office, those being The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale. Other successful Batman movies include the aforementioned Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2022’s The Batman, the latter of which earned $765 million.
Then there is Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin, which earned $1.2 billion worldwide between them. When factoring in Batman Begins‘ $350 million gross, Batman becomes the undisputed king of DC heroes at the worldwide box office. Much like the character of Superman, this is only going to continue with James Gunn’s DCU and The Brave and the Bold, as Gotham’s Caped Crusader solidifies his box office pull.
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