Superman was the first superhero, but his screen history lacks successful outings. The Man of Steel, an upright do-gooder who is more powerful than any other superhero, has proven difficult to adapt because he’s neither terribly conflicted nor all that vulnerable.
James Gunn’sSupermanis just the latest attempt to tell a story about this character, and not the first one to be a success. We’ve ranked the long history of Superman movies on screen, narrowing it down to his seven best live-action films:
7. Superman III (1983)
Look,Superman IIIis a pretty embarrassing movie, and I think most of the people involved would agree. It hails from an era in Hollywood filmmaking when movies were less about their characters and more about stars, which is why Richard Pryor is second billed here simply because he once said he liked Superman.
The result is a deeply silly, pretty strange movie that wasn’t very good when it came out and feels downright offensive to the sensibilities of audiences who have been trained on decades of careful IP management.
You can watchSuperman IIIonHBO Max.
6. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
This movie might be higher if it were more of a Superman movie. The character’s return is key to the plotting ofJustice League, but he arrives partway through the runtime of a movie more focused on Ben Affleck’s Batman.
Still,Zack Snyder’s Justice Leagueis undeniably better than the version of this movie that made it to theaters and has moments of genuine surprise wrapped in it. Is there an hour of slow-motion footage? Yes, but you’re either in on that or you’re not.Justice Leagueis one man’s vision, unadorned, and that has to be admired.
You can watchZack Snyder’s Justice LeagueonHBO Max.
5. Superman II (1980)
After Reeves’ first outing as Superman, the movies he starred in got progressively sillier and also worse.Superman IIis the last one that’s arguably good, although it’s also a movie fundamentally compromised because parts of it were directed byRichard Donnerand parts by Richard Lester.
The result is a movie with strange pacing, unusual plotting, and a performance by Terence Stamp that is so committed it will help you forget about some of those sins.Superman IIis mostly just a lark, but one you probably won’t regret watching.
You can watchSuperman IIonHBO Max.
4. Man of Steel (2013)
There are plenty of things to love inMan of Steel, but Zack Snyder’s take on Superman is hugely flawed in part because it seems to spend much of its running time wishing its central character were Batman instead. “What if Superman was dark and sad?” might be an interesting question in theory, but in practice, it washes away all of the elements that make Superman.
Even so, Henry Cavill does an excellent job with what he’s given, and Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe are both excellent as Superman’s two dads and two men who are in subtle conflict over who their son should be.
You can watch Man of SteelonHBO Max.
3. Superman Returns (2006)
Superman Returnsis associated with several real-world villains, but the movie itself is better than you might have expected. Bryan Singer’s whole objective in makingSuperman Returnswas to make a movie that felt like the Reeve movies he grew up with, and he largely succeeded.
Thanks to better visual effects, though,Superman Returnsfeels a little less janky. The romance is all there, though, even if Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth can’t quite live up to the chemistry of Reeve and Margot Kidder. It’s far from a perfect movie, but one that gets fairly close to having an interesting, coherent take on the Man of Steel.
You can watchSuperman ReturnsonHBO Max.
2. Superman: The Movie (1978)
Christopher Reeve’s Supermanremains the most iconic version of the character, and not just because he was the first actor to play him in a feature film. Richard Donner’sSupermanis a brilliant showcase for Reeves’s take on the character, and in his hands, you actually believe that Clark and Superman could be two separate people.
The first 90 minutes of this movie are basically perfect. It’s only when the movie remembers its plot that things fall apart just a little bit. The ending is undeniably silly, but that doesn’t lessen the movie’s remarkable power.
You can watchSupermanonHBO Max.
1. Superman (2025)
This may seem like sacrilege, and it’s possible that with time and distance, opinions will shift. Right now, though,James Gunn’s Supermanfeels like the most fully realized version of the character. Here is a movie that has the effects and budget to make Superman’s powers look cool but, more importantly, a perfect understanding of what makes the character so important.
David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult are all perfectly cast, and the movie’s central anchor is a belief that what makes Superman important is not his power but his constant effort to do good. We simply don’t get enough of people who are trying their best on screen.
