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Even though James Gunn likes to brush it off, a lot is riding on Superman for the fledgling DC Studios. With some analysts saying that it needs to clear the $700 million mark at the box office before it can be considered a true success, Warner Bros. is going to be watching the opening weekend extra carefully. However, some recent reports suggest that the opening weekend for Superman might be underwhelming.

“Underwhelming” is a relative term here. There is some discrepancy between expectations for how Superman will perform at the domestic box office during its opening weekend. One company projects it will earn between $125 and $145 million, which would be a solid showing for the movie. More recent sources are saying that the movie will bring in closer to $90-$125 million. We could potentially be looking at a situation where Superman opens to a sub-$100 million box office in the US.

However, this doesn’t mean that the movie is going to be a flop. There are several factors that suggest Superman could do well at the box office even if its opening isn’t as high as DC and Warner Bros. would like. First, Superman has better brand awareness than most US presidents; people are aware that the movie is coming out and are probably waiting on some early reviews and word-of-mouth (such as from the advance screenings for Amazon Prime subscribers in the days leading up to Superman’s July 11 release date) to make up their mind about if they will go see it.

Basically, people want to know if Superman is any good before they commit to going to see it. After a string of underwhelming superhero movies from both Marvel and DC, it is clear that name recognition alone won’t help the movie soar at the box office. Superman will need a Sinners-style second and third weekend to be a success, and that means being a movie people are excited about seeing – and who tell their friends about it.

James Gunn's Superman is flying into theaters soon enough, and Popverse has all you need to prepare. Refreshing your cinematic memory with our Superman movie watch order, learn what we know about the upcoming Superman movie, Superman's S-Shield through the ages, and read about what DC is doing ahead of their flagship hero's triumphant return.