Every Superman Movie Runtime, From Shortest to Longest

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Superheroes simply wouldn’t exist without Superman, who started it all in 1938 and whose adventures continue through the final decades of his first century without missing a beat. His iconic status and enduring popularity have helped form the backbone of the entire superhero genre, and the arrival of James Gunn’s Superman in the summer of 2025 looks to write a whole new chapter in DC’s storied history. Superman’s presence at the movies goes back to the animated Fleishcer cartoons of the early 1940s, and went from movie-serial shorts to live-action features about a decade later.

2025’s Superman will join a list of over a dozen movie adaptations of The Man of Steel, many of which are quite long. With fans viewing older Superman films in the lead up to the new one, it’s interesting to note their respective lengths. They speak volumes about the era each movie was made, as well as warning fans whose viewing time may be limited about movies that may run long. This is not including television versions, animated feature films, or either of the two Superman serials from the 1940s and 1950s, both of which would top the list if viewed in a single sitting.

13

Superman and The Mole Men (58 mins)

George Reeves Kicked Off the Seminal TV Series with a Feature-Length Movie

“Feature-length” meant something very different in 1951, when movie theaters often offered two features along with numerous shorts and cartoons. Superman and the Mole Men runs just 58 minutes, in part because it serves as a rump pilot for what became the very successful Adventures of Superman TV series. Accordingly, Superman and the Mole Men clocks in at a slender 58 minutes, and after its successful theatrical run it was packaged with the subsequent TV series as a two-part episode entitled “The Unknown People.”

The film is fairly mundane by today’s standards, with effects rendered on a shoestring budget and the plot aimed solely at children in the audience. It is, however, the first feature-length film of any kind for a DC Comics character. It also introduces George Reeves’ storied run in the role of Clark Kent, which he went on to play on television and which became the definitive take on the character for over 25 years. To top it all off, the movie contains a sweet message about understanding those who are different, as the “Mole Men” turn out to be benign and friendly after initially appearing as a threat.

12

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (90 mins.)

Christopher Reeve’s Durable Run Crash Lands Hard

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace isn’t just the worst Superman movie of any kind to date, but it’s in the running for one of the worst superhero movies of all time. It brought Christopher Reeve’s term as the character crashing to an ignominious halt, and kept the Man of Steel off the big screen for almost 20 years and its reputation has not improved with age. Reeve believed in the moral message of the story, in which Superman vows to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

Unfortunately, the production (financed by the infamous Cannon Pictures) was cut to the bone, and whatever good things the movie may have produced were cut with it. Reeve later lamented the lack of financing and indifference from the Cannon front office in his memoir, Still Me. Accordingly, it’s one of the shortest big-screen outings that the Man of Steel has ever had to endure, clocking in at a slender 90 minutes. Superman and Reeve both deserved better.

11

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (116 mins.)

The Movie Is Deeply Flawed, But Contains Compelling Moments

Christopher Reeve’s first two Superman movies were filmed back to back, with the ambitious belief that the first one would prove a hit, and justify the sequel. The bet proved correct, and allowed Superman: The Movie to elegantly set up Superman II with the prelude on Krypton concerning General Zod. Director Richard Donner was let go with 75% of the sequel completed, and director Richard Lester was brought in to finish Superman II. His version was the one that received a theatrical release, and reflects his touch for lighter action-comedy over Donner’s more epic vision.

In 2006, a cut of the film reflecting Donner’s vision for Superman II was released on DVD and Blu-ray, complete with audio commentary from Donner himself. Ironically, it’s a little shorter than the theatrical version, running at 1 hour and 56 minutes. The director also acknowledges that the assembly is imperfect, taking place decades after the movies were shot and with the original creative thread long lost. It’s a fascinating artifact, with a number of clever concepts and some interestingly reworked scenes. But it falls into some logic traps and its pacing suffers for the long time it spent on the shelf.

10

Justice League (120 mins.)

The Troubled Production Brings DC’s Super-Team Together on the Big Screen

Whatever joys can be found in the theatrical cut of Justice League, they arrive amid one of the most controversial production histories in recent memory. Director Zack Snyder stepped down midway through the production in the wake of a family tragedy, and The Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought in to finish the film. The subsequent theatrical release bears Whedon’s directing credits, and runs a comparatively slender 120 minutes.

In retrospect, the movie faces problems that it simply can’t surmount. The change in directors was intended to present a more optimistic vision after the grim tone of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice left Warner Bros. scrambling to course correct. The film has also been marred by credible allegations of on-set abuse leveled at Whedon. The resulting film is more entertaining than its reputation suggests, but it can’t rise above the serviceable thanks to its muddled creation, and the allegations against Whedon make viewing it a difficult experience.

9

Supergirl (124 mins.)

The 80s Misfire Wastes a Terrific Helen Slater

Supergirl’s countless problems don’t extend to star Helen Slater, whose bright fun-filled turn as Kara Zor-El almost makes up for the abject failure of the rest of the film. Produced by the Salkinds as Christopher Reeve’s Superman franchise began actively flailing, it promised to include a cameo from Reeve, who bowed out of the production early on. It’s part of the same universe, however, as explained by a news broadcast that mentions Superman departing Earth for a mission in deep space. 2006’s Superman Returns is posited as a loose sequel that picks up when he comes back to Earth.

Regardless, director Jeannot Szwarc is in way over his head, with a nonsensical plot about an all-powerful “Omegahedron” that Kara must recover for vague and uncompelling reasons. Peter O’Toole and Faye Dunaway vamp away their A-list salaries, with the former only loosely connected to the plot and the latter utterly at sea as the movie’s villainess. Slater is a winner, and might have done great things with the character. At 2 hours and 4 minutes, it’s too bad the movie can’t give her a better story to work with.

8

Superman III (125 mins.)

The Durable Christopher Reeve Movies Hit Their First Serious Trouble

After the stellar outing of Superman II, the franchise came crashing back to earth in a big way with Superman III, which had all the makings of another classic only to let it all slip away. Richard Lester replaced Richard Donner behind the camera, and while he retains a deft touch for light action, he struggles to keep the film’s disparate elements together. Obvious slam dunks are overlooked (such as a villainous supercomputer that should be Brainiac, but isn’t) and the film’s curious fixation on Richard Pryor’s Gus over Reeve’s Superman makes no sense.

A few strong scenes stand out from the mediocrity, notably a delightful Chaplinesque opening credits sequence depicting an absurdly ordinary morning in Metropolis. Christopher Reeve pulls a rabbit out of his hat when an imperfect piece of Kryptonite turns him into a super jerk, and the fight between him and his alter ego Clark Kent desperately needs a better movie surrounding it. It clocks in at 2 hours and 5 minutes, a comparatively modest time for a movie with much to be modest about.

7

Superman II (127 mins.)

A Superior Sequel Perfectly Complements the Classic Original

Sequels don’t get any better than Superman II in which Kal-El has to face a trio of Kryptonian fugitives who possess the same powers and abilities that he does. Director Richard Lester takes over from a departing Richard Donner, and while his efforts are more overtly comedic than his predecessor, they more than serve the movie’s needs. It runs shorter than Superman: The Movie at 2 hours and 7 minutes.

The story finds Kal-El renouncing his powers to be with Lois Lane, just as General Zod and his minions launch their attack on Earth. Gene Hackman returns as Lex Luthor, while Reeve and Margot Kidder beautifully develop their version of Clark and Lois’ romance. The real star, of course, turns out to be Terence Stamp, whose imperious, single-minded Zod remains one of the best villains of any kind in movie history.

6

Superman: The Movie (Theatrical Cut) (143 minutes)

Superheroes Arrive on the Big Screen in a Durable Evergreen

Superheroes have always been perceived as a shabby genre, and for all his popularity, even the Man of Steel couldn’t earn an A-list production. Even as superheroes thrived on the small screen, a big-budget theatrical blockbuster seemed like a pipe dream. Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie changed that in a big way, riding the renewed enthusiasm for big-budget entertainment created by Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.

Donner approached the task with a great deal of care, presenting Superman’s untarnished idealism in an increasingly cynical world and balancing his campier side with deep and abiding convictions. Christopher Reeve becomes a perfect embodiment of both Clark Kent and Kal-El, and the combination fits Donner’s tone like a glove. The entire first hour is dedicated to his origin story, expertly developed and in many ways still definitive. Accordingly, the film is on the long side, clocking in at 2 hours and 23 minutes.

5

Man of Steel (143 mins.)

The DCEU Begins with Zack Snyder’s Ambitious Reboot

By an odd coincidence, Man of Steel runs almost exactly the same length as Superman: The Movie, presenting another detailed account of Kal-El’s origins in an effort to launch the DCEU. Like many of Snyder’s films Man of Steel has divided fans, with both critics and defenders passionate about their position. Its careful reboot of Superman’s beginnings carries its share of controversial moments — most notably his decision to take a life at the end. It also provides an admirable showcase for Henry Cavill’s well-regarded run as Superman.

Time has revealed the ambitious Man of Steel as a fair-to-middling superhero movie, with a lot of excellent concepts that don’t quite come together the way they should. It succeeds in setting the tone of the DCEU, however, and Snyder presents a different and compelling version of Clark Kent without straying too far from his roots. Michael Shannon steals the show as a new version of Superman’s perennial nemesis, General Zod.

4

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (152 mins.)

The DCEU Goes Dark While Setting Up The Justice League.

Snyder’s follow-up to Man of Steel was intended to launch the Justice League movies, as well as deliver a new version of Batman with Ben Affleck’s world-weary Bruce Wayne. Inexcusable blunders like killing Jimmy Olsen off 15 minutes into the film are counterbalanced by some first-rate ideas and a few showstopping moments. The highlight is unquestionably Gal Gadot’s arrival as Wonder Woman (the first big-screen appearance for the character), which deftly steals the thunder of the other two heroes in the title.

As befits Snyder’s embrace of the epic, the film clocks in at a mighty 2 hours and 32 minutes, with the Ultimate Edition clocking in at 3 hours and 1 minute. With so much to set up and so many new characters to introduce so quickly, the film uses every second of that screen time to bring some new factor into the mix. Snyder’s other DC movies are hardly alone on that front, but in fairness, his are far from the only adventures of the Man of Steel to stretch into their third hour.

3

Superman Returns (154 mins.)

A Solid Onscreen Adventure Is Marred by Offscreen Allegations

After a number of tries from the likes of Kevin Smith and Tim Burton, director Bryan Singer finally brought Superman back to the big screen with 2006’s Superman Returns. It acts as an extended sequel to the events of the Christopher Reeve movies, with Superman departing to look for signs of life on Krypton, only to return empty-handed to Earth to find things very different. Lois has had a baby, seemingly with another man, while Lex Luthor has a new real-estate scheme that might just do Kal-El in along with the rest of the planet.

The film works surprisingly well, though its success failed to match that of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight movies. Its best asset is Brendon Routh in the title role, and while he’s deliberately emulating Reeve’s take on the character, he finds a unique and engaging version of superhero all his own. Subsequent off-screen allegations against both director Bryan Singer and star Kevin Spacey have muddied an otherwise enjoyable one-off outing, while Routh, at least, survived to become The Atom in on TV’s Legends of Tomorrow.

2

Superman: The Movie, Television Cut (188 mins.)

The Three-Hour Version Is Unnecessary, But Fun

Technically, the “television cut” of Superman: The Movie doesn’t belong on the list, since it was technically never released in theaters. It’s often included in DVD and Blu-ray collections of the film, however, and the additional material, while unnecessary, is still a lot of fun. Producer Alexander Salkind assembled it for a television viewing based on a completed theatrical cut that was shortened in editing. A 3-hour-and-8-minute “international television edition” has since been aired on networks, cable TV, and eventually a physical media release in 2017.

Richard Donner was dismissive of the extended cut before his passing, and the theatrical release is certainly better paced. The television cut comes with unique treats for Superman fans, however. The biggest is an extended scene of young Clark Kent alongside a speeding passenger train (proving himself more powerful than a locomotive in the process) while a young girl watches her progress. The television cut reveals her to be a young Lois Lane. Her parents are played by Noel Neill and Kirk Alyn, who played Lois and Superman in the original Superman serial in 1948.

1

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (242 mins.)

The Director’s Fans Received His Version as a Parting Gift from the DCEU

Most live-action Superman movies are long, but Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League takes all comers. At 242 minutes, it’s only 2 minutes shorter than the original 1948 Superman serial, which consisted of a whopping 15 chapters. It came amid an unprecedented call for the director’s version to be restored and released, adding over an hour and a half of new footage and restoring the dark and somber mood that was mitigated by Justice Leage’s original theatrical version.

It received a limited theatrical release before appearing on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K. The new version stays closer to Snyder’s more pessimistic version of the DCEU, in keeping with his earlier work on the franchise. A black-and-white version of the film was released as well. With James Gunn’s DCU reboot, the DCEU won’t be continuing, making Snyder’s Justice League a singular treat for the director’s fans.

Superman 2025 opens July 11 in theaters.

“}]] The Man of Steel’s big-screen adventures run anywhere from less than an hour to over four, but how does each Superman movie rank in terms of length?  Read More