Superman director James Gunn has blamed anti-American sentiment for the film’s underwhelming international box office performance.
The reboot of the iconic DC hero has been a massive success in the United States, earning more than $253m (£186m) domestically. However, it has so far failed to majorly ignite the international box-office, earning just $173m (£127m) worldwide at the time of writing.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Gunn claimed that the character is not as well-known in some places around the world, compared to the US, and that the film is also battling with disapproval of Americans on the global stage.
“Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a well-known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things,” claimed the 58-year-old.
He continued: “And it also affects things that we have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn’t really helping us. So I think it’s just a matter of letting something grow.”
Gunn did caveat this by saying that the film has been “a total win”, adding that “this is just the seed of the tree that Peter Safran [co-CEO of DC Studios] and I have been watering for the past three years”.
So far, Superman’s total worldwide gross is reportedly $430m, surpassing the $330m achieved by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, which is the character’s previous highest-grossing film.
The new film was the subject of a political spat before its release after Gunn claimed that it is an immigrant story, which “says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost”.
Reacting to the director’s remark, Fox News anchor Kellyanne Conway said on The Five: “We don’t go to the movie theatre to be lectured to and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us. I wonder if it will be successful.”
Responding to the criticism, Gunn said Superman was for “everyone”.
“I’m not here to judge people,” he told Variety at the Superman premiere in Los Angeles. “I think this is a movie about kindness and I think that’s something everyone can relate to.”
Gunn’s iteration of the iconic DC superhero features David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as the villainous Lex Luthor.
The cast also includes Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, and Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer.
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