People often argue that “superhero fatigue” isn’t real, but in 2025 the numbers tell a different story. These movies are making much less money than before, especially outside the U.S. In countries like China and across Asia, audiences seem to have moved on from the genre.

Both Superman and Fantastic Four are struggling at the box office, making this the weakest year for superhero films since 2011—14 years ago, when Marvel was just starting with movies like Thor, Captain America, and X-Men: First Class. Back then, no film crossed $700 million worldwide. Now, in 2025, the same thing is happening again—only one movie even reached $600 million.

Here are the 2025 totals:

  • Superman – $604M (42% international) | 83% critic score | 90% audience score

  • Fantastic Four: First Steps – $490M (47.5% international) | 87% critic score | 91% audience score

  • Captain America: Brave New World – $415M (51.7% international) | 46% critic score | 76% audience score

  • Thunderbolts – $382M (50.2% international) | 88% critic score | 93% audience score

Thunderbolts- Not bad – Marvel

The key point: only Superman crossed $500M, while Fantastic Four is barely close. What’s surprising is that many of these films were actually liked by both critics and audiences. The problem isn’t quality—it’s that fewer people are showing up to watch them.

The international numbers show the same issue. Around 50% may look fine, but compared to past hits, it’s weak. For example, Avengers: Endgame made 69% of its money overseas, Spider-Man: No Way Home made 57%, and even the flop The Marvels made 59%. By contrast, Superman pulled in only 42% internationally, which director James Gunn partly blamed on rising anti-American feelings abroad. Ironically, Captain America still did about 10% better than Superman overseas.

The year 2026 will be a big test. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to make at least a billion dollars, and if it doesn’t, it will show that the industry is in real trouble. Avengers: Doomsday is also planned for the end of the year, and it too needs to be a massive success.

This year was already a test, with a new Superman movie meant to launch the DC Universe and the highly important Fantastic Four release. But both still saw very weak results.

We’ll have to wait and see if things get better, but it looks like the golden age of superhero movies is fading into silver—or even bronze.

Published: 26th August 2025

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