Macho man in tights: can the new "Superman" become a hit in Russia

The worldwide release of the movie "Superman" took place on July 11, 2025, the novelty quickly became one of the highest-grossing superhero blockbusters in recent years. In Russia, the hit directed by James Gunn will be pre—screened in professional dubbing, and its screenings will begin a week after the rest of the regions on July 17. Izvestia investigated whether cinemas would be able to win over an audience with the help of a genre that mass audiences were tired of.

Flying man in tights

"Superman" was released in most countries of the world last weekend, and it will reach Russia on July 17, Izvestia found out. On this date, screenings will begin in selected metropolitan cinemas, and the film will be released in wide release on the 19th. The film was directed by James Gunn ("Guardians of the Galaxy", "Suicide Squad: Mission Through and Through"). The roles of Superman and Lois Lane were played by David Korensvet (Pearl, Hollywood) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Amazing Mrs. Maisel, Spy Games). Superman's main rival, Lex Luthor, was embodied by Nicholas Hoult ("X-Men", "My Boy"), who also has the largest fee among the cast: $ 2 million, while the other two actors are content with more modest amounts of $750 thousand each.

According to the results of the first weekend, the film has the best start among superhero blockbusters in the last three years: over $ 220 million for the opening weekend. For comparison, the popular action movie "Deadpool and Wolverine" collected $ 211 million, and the record for the last three years is set by "Guardians of the Galaxy 3" (2023), which, by the way, was shot by the same director: James Gunn, but for the Marvel cinematic universe.

In Russia, the film will be pre-screened in professional dubbing. Izvestia was among the first to watch a novelty that rebooted the DC cinematic universe — now it's called the DC Universe instead of the DC Extended Universe. James Gunn, known for his many Marvel hits, has become a key figure in the relaunch of the previously failed cinematic universe, where Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other superhumans with amazing abilities get along.

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The authors of the film do not waste time explaining and building a picture of the world. From the very first minutes, it is postulated that the Metropolis with its meta-humans is a common phenomenon, so fights with monsters in the city center are not surprising. But you can still delve into the plot. It's simple, but with nuances that should make it intense. The problem is that the viewer is left without context and, if he is not a fan, he does not understand much about what is happening. For example, the character of an Engineer: her backstory is mentioned in just one sentence, although she often appears on screen, especially in action scenes. It would seem that her motivation should be more complicated, but this does not follow from the film.

The same can be said about most of the characters. They are memorable and well-played, but for some reason their background remains "in the director's head." There was a lot of this background in Guardians of the Galaxy from the very beginning, although it was only fully revealed in the sequels. Here, too, we don't see the stories of the characters from the beginning, but there are too few of these stories here. Even Lois Lane and Lex Luthor are not fully revealed: Lois is just a journalist and a love interest, and Lex, who, although played by Nicholas Hoult himself, has no clear motivation and sometimes looks like a caricature, which is unacceptable for an artist with a check of $ 2 million.

Clark Kent is an exception. His two guises (a superhero and an "ordinary guy") are shown enough, the motivation is clear, and the crisis of self-belief, albeit short, adds depth. David Korensvet convincingly embodies both images, he shows a very humane and empathetic character, in no way inferior to past performers of this role.

The action scenes are dynamic, but the quality of the computer graphics is depressing. The $225 million film was clearly saved, and the visual effects sometimes evoke unpleasant memories of the failed "Wonder Woman 1984." This is all the more strange because the film is based on a well-known principle, where a number of spectacular scenes hardly allow interspersions between them, actually, the plot. In fact, this is a cabbage patch, bright, with ridiculous costumes, humor and conventions that need to be accepted from the first minute. If you're ready for it, you'll probably enjoy it. But it's hardly as strong as from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Cinemas urgently need a hit

Last weekend, cinema attendance in Russia dropped to an annual low of only 800,000 people. It was below this level only in the summer of 2023, and before that, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent action films such as "Ballerina" and "Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning" have partly helped to increase audience interest in movie theaters, but even this growth has not been enough.

Large networks are not always at risk of contacting pre-screening services, but representatives of those sites that show Hollywood content told Izvestia that they expect a strong increase in turnout. There are no big releases except for the tenth Saw this week, but it's still a horror movie, and it has a limited audience. And "Superman" is a brand that is understandable and a good sundress after its release abroad. In addition, there are no pirated copies in good quality on the Web yet, but here is still a spectacle that people go to the cinema for.

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"Last weekend, we had the most viewers at the Jurassic World: Rebirth screenings," the administrator of a Moscow cinema told Izvestia. — But we're expecting a lot more for Superman, and there are more sessions planned for it so far. I can't say exactly how much, and in general, pre-screening screenings are usually scheduled for Wednesday, so keep an eye on the schedule on the website.

The film has high ratings on aggregators: 83% approval from critics, 93% approval from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes, and 4.0 out of 5 on Letterboxd.

The summer of 2025 is full of action premieres, and the film with Holt and Korensvet will have to compete for the audience: in two weeks, the blockbuster "Fantastic Four: First Steps" will start showing in cinemas, and in August "Nobody 2" and "Toxic Avenger" will be shown. In addition, "Red Sonya" will be released in official Russian release at the end of July, and this title refers to the popular action film of the era of video recorders. And if in the rest of the world it is clearly not a competitor to Superman, then in Russia, due to advertising and the official status, fantasy about a warrior girl can work more effectively.