SCREEN PROFITS REPORT
Superman
1978 · Richard Donner · Pierre Spengler · 2 hr 23 min
An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
Cast Salaries
Cast Salaries
| Cast | Year | Salary | Inflation adjusted salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlon Brando | 1978 | $3,700,000Brando reportedly commanded a salary of $3.7 million and a backend deal of 11.75% for his 20 minutes.source | $18,267,331 | (rep) |
| Gene Hackman | 1978 | $2,000,000While Superman was one of Hackman's most popular films, it was also his highest-earning project as it garnered $2 million.source | $9,874,233 | (rep) |
| Christopher Reeve | 1978 | $250,000Reeve was paid $250K for the film while Kidder got a paycheck of $110K.source | $1,234,279 | (rep) |
| Ned Beatty | 1978 | $318,450 | $1,572,225 | (est) |
| Jackie Cooper | 1978 | $820,051 | $4,048,687 | (est) |
| Glenn Ford | 1978 | $836,976 | $4,132,248 | (est) |
| Trevor Howard | 1978 | $127,879 | $631,354 | (est) |
| Margot Kidder | 1978 | $110,000Reeve was paid $250K for the film while Kidder got a paycheck of $110K.source | $543,083 | (rep) |
| Valerie Perrine | 1978 | $237,557 | $1,172,847 | (est) |
| Maria Schell | 1978 | $159,464 | $787,292 | (est) |
| Terence Stamp | 1978 | $530,512 | $2,619,200 | (est) |
| Phyllis Thaxter | 1978 | $515,219 | $2,543,696 | (est) |
| Susannah York | 1978 | $216,325 | $1,068,022 | (est) |
Box Office
Box Office Reported grosses are direct imports. Inflation-adjusted values use imported adjusted totals when available, otherwise they use the yearly U.S. CPI table you maintain in WordPress.
Inflation-adjusted values are shown in 2025 dollars when CPI data is available.
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Domestic theatrical box office gross. | 1978 | $134,218,018 | $662,650,000 |
| International International theatrical box office gross. | 1978 | $2,461 | $12,150 |
| Worldwide Combined worldwide theatrical box office gross. | 1978 | $134,220,479 | $645,781,660 |
Earnings / Profitability
Earnings / Profitability
Estimated revenues and expenses for films based on currently imported reported and estimated fields. Inflation-adjusted values use the CPI table when direct adjusted values are not present in the export.
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue Estimated distributor theatrical revenue using the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $59,056,775 (est) | $291,570,180 (est) |
| Digital Rentals Estimated digital rental revenue from the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $0 | $0 |
| Digital Purchases Estimated digital purchase revenue from the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $0 | $0 |
| Physical Rentals Estimated physical rental revenue from the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $677,590 | $3,345,341 |
| Physical Purchases Physical Purchases: VHS $271,686 | 1978 | $271,686 | $1,341,346 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue Estimated ancillary TV and streaming revenue from the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $34,479,413 (est) | $170,228,879 (est) |
| Total Revenues Total of the revenue streams currently available or derived in this ScreenProfits profitability view. | 1978 | $94,485,463 | $466,485,746 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget Production budget. | 1978 | $55,000,000 | $264,624,233 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) Estimated prints and advertising cost. sourceSource: Superman (1978 film) | Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki | FandomURL: https://warnerbros.fandom.com/wiki/Superman_(1978_film)Warner Bros. Pictures spent $6–7 million on marketing the film. | 1978 | $6,500,000 | $32,091,258 |
| Participations Talent and producer participation payouts. Parsed from source context when available, otherwise estimated from the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $2,096,087 (est) | $10,348,628 (est) |
| Residuals Residual and related distribution expense line. Parsed from source context when available, otherwise estimated from the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $1,483,422 (est) | $7,323,826 (est) |
| Interest & Overhead Interest and overhead allocation. Parsed from source context when available, otherwise estimated from the year-based ScreenProfits finance model. | 1978 | $5,940,000 (est) | $29,326,472 (est) |
| Total Expenses Total of budget, P&A, participations, residuals, and interest/overhead in this ScreenProfits profitability view. | 1978 | $71,019,509 | $343,714,417 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss Estimated movie net profit/loss from the current ScreenProfits revenue and expense model. | 1978 | $23,465,954 | $122,771,328 |
Similar Movies
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Man of Steel
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Superman III
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Superman Returns
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Deep Dives & Reports
Deep Dives & Reports
Editorial posts linked to this movie will be highlighted here via the post-to-movie relationship table.