--- description: The 8 Batman movies brought in an average of $362 million, compared to the $267 million average haul from the six Superman films. title: The Battle Between Batman and Superman Already Has a Winner image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Battle Between Batman and Superman Already Has a Winner by [David Johnson](/author/dave-johnson/) ## David Johnson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 24, 2016 7:31 PM CUT by [David Johnson](/author/dave-johnson/) ## David Johnson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 24, 2016 7:31 PM CUT [_Batman_](http://time.com/4268724/batmanvsuperman-review-movie-ben-affleck-henry-cavill/ "undefined")[ _v Superman: Dawn of Justice_](http://time.com/4268724/batmanvsuperman-review-movie-ben-affleck-henry-cavill/ "undefined")_,_ in theaters March 25, marks the[ first big-screen face-off](http://time.com/4267487/batman-v-superman-everything-to-know/ "undefined") between the superheroes. But a closer look at ticket sales shows there’s already a winner: the Caped Crusader. The eight Batman theatrical releases brought in an average of $362 million, compared to the nearly $268 million average haul from the six Superman films. The most successful Batman film ever is 2012’s _The_ _Dark Knight_, starring Christian Bale as the Bat, with $646 million. The Man of Steel came closest behind in 1978, with Christopher Reeves’ Superman, raking in $499 million, adjusted for inflation. The only question that remains—beyond who will win _Dawn of Justice_‘s superhero showdown—is whether[ Will Arnett’s _Lego Batman_](http://time.com/4270786/lego-batman-movie-trailer/ "undefined") can keep up. Hover over circles in the graph below to see details for each movie. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4269904/batman-v-superman-box-office/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4269904/batman-v-superman-box-office/"},"headline":"The Battle Between Batman and Superman Already Has a Winner","datePublished":"2016-03-24T19:31:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:09:56.685Z","description":"At the box office, at least","url":"https://time.com/4269904/batman-v-superman-box-office/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Johnson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dave-johnson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4269904/batman-v-superman-box-office/","name":"The Battle Between Batman and Superman Already Has a Winner"}}]}] ```