Marvel Vs. DC Box Office: Which 2025 Superhero Movie Gave The Best Return On Budget – Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Or Another Surprise Winner?
Breaking down 2025’s popular superhero films to see which studio’s heroes are flying highest at the global box office in terms of earnings-to-budget ratios: Marvel or DC?
In 2025, fans have witnessed several superhero films, but when it comes to live-action releases from the two biggest studios, Marvel and DC, there have been only four so far. Marvel kicked off the year with the MCU’s Captain America: Brave New World, followed by Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. DC, meanwhile, released just one film — the David Corenswet-led Superman. The big question, however, is which of these superhero ventures delivered the highest returns relative to their budget. Who’s the winner here: Marvel or DC? Let’s break down the numbers.
2025’s Marvel & DC Films – Budgets & Worldwide Earnings
Here are the budgets and worldwide earnings for every superhero movie from Marvel and DC released in 2025 in their release order (according to Box Office Mojo):
Captain America: Brave New World – Budget: $180 Million | Worldwide Earnings: $415.1 Million
Thunderbolts* – Budget: $180 Million | Worldwide Earnings: $382.4 Million
Superman – Budget: $225 Million | Worldwide Earnings: $615.7 Million
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – Budget: $200 Million | Worldwide Earnings: $521.4 Million
2025 Marvel & DC Superhero Films – Best Return On Budget
Based on the above budget and earnings data, here’s how Marvel and DC superhero films performed and ranked in terms of earnings-to-budget ratios:
Superman – 2.7x
The Fantastic Four: First Steps – 2.6x
Captain America: Brave New World – 2.3x
Thunderbolts* – 2.1x
As the numbers show, the highest return relative to budget was achieved by James Gunn’s Superman reboot, earning 2.7x its budget. Next in line is the latest First Family reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, at 2.6x, followed by Captain America: Brave New World at 2.3x and Thunderbolts* at 2.1x. This means that the DC superhero movie Superman delivered the highest return relative to its budget.
More About Superman
Directed by James Gunn, Superman centers on Clark Kent (David Corenswet) in his early days as a reporter and how he tries to find a balance between his Kryptonian legacy and his human upbringing in Smallville. The movie also features Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, and Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl.
