Superman director James Gunn is blaming his movie’s weak overseas box office on President Trump.
Oh, sure, he got cute about it, but we all know what he meant…
“Superman is not a known commodity in some places. He is not a big known superhero in some places like Batman is. That affects things,” Gunn told the far-left Rolling Stone. “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.”
The reason guys like Gunn talk to outlets like Rolling Stone is because guys like Gunn know they can say anything without fear of challenge or pushback — well, anything that hits the left’s sweet spot, like Trump is so hated people won’t see my movie, man. No, ferrealz.
Now, I’m not some bigtime Rolling Stone journalist or anything. I’m just a guy who’s overpaid to shit post online, but I have a question for Mr. James Gunn… Just one — one teeny-tiny little question…
Why has the American movie Jurassic World: Rebirth, released only nine days before Superman, grossed almost $400 million overseas in just 20 days? Meanwhile, Superman has grossed less than half that?
Actually, I have another question… If anti-American sentiment is hurting American movies overseas, how did the American movie Lilo & Stitch gross $590 million overseas this summer?
How to Train Your Dragon is at $339 million overseas.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning earned $393 million overseas.
F1: The Movie scored $309 million overseas.
Here’s where I answer my own question…
The reason Superman is underperforming overseas is because Superman sucks. It’s just not a very good movie. Jurassic World: Rebirth also sucks, but at least it’s a Jurassic World movie — it hits all the plot beats Jurassic World fans expect it to hit. Superman doesn’t do that. Superman doesn’t feel like a Superman movie. Lois Lane flies a spaceship for crying out loud. Superman spends three-quarters of the movie getting his ass kicked. The plot is full of holes and bad jokes. Above all, instead of being a classy, educated gentleman, Gunn’s Superman is a dim-witted bro.
And if anything, although Gunn is again being coy about it, he’s made it perfectly clear that in his own demented mind Superman is an anti-Trump movie about kindness and the importance of immigrants. So, shouldn’t that have appealed to the overseas crowd that hates Trump, er, I mean “““America?”””
Gunn is obviously (and justifiably) concerned with Superman’s overseas numbers since his movie might end up losing money, so he’s blaming the Orange Bad Man, hoping that will see him through the trauma.
Not to belabor the point, but Gunn also blamed his movie’s poor overseas box office on the fact that Superman is not well-known overseas…
Okay… Well, then why did Man of Steel gross $379 million overseas in 2013, which is $524 million in 2025 dollars?
In 2025 dollars, 2013’s Man of Steel’s global gross was $928 million.
Superman won’t come near that.
James Gunn is a liar.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
