DC Extended Universe
The DC Universe (also referred to as the DCU, DC Cinematic Universe and formerly referred to as the DC Extended Universe and shortened as the DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe that is centered on a series of superhero movies and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, based on characters that appear in publications by DC Comics. It also includes comic books, short films, novels, and video games.
| DC Extended Universe | |
|---|---|
 DC Films logo | |
| Based on | Characters published by DC Comics |
| Starring | See below |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date | 2013–present |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Total (12 movies): $2.189 billion |
| Box office | Total (12 movies): $6.368 billion |
Background
The shared universe, much like the original DC Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. The movies have been in production since 2011 and in that time Warner Bros. has distributed four movies with more than ten in various stages of production. The series has grossed over $3 billion at the global box office, currently making it the seventeenth highest-grossing movie franchise.
The movies are written and directed by a variety of screenwriters and feature large, often ensemble, casts. Several actors, including Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher, had been set to appear in numerous movies.
In May 2016, DC's chief creative officer Geoff Johns and Warner Bros. executive vice president Jon Berg were appointed to co-run the DC Films division and oversee creative decisions, production and story-arcs in order to create a cohesive overarching plot within the movies. However, after the movie Justice League failed to make as much money as expected and was considered lackluster, less focus was placed on making a shared universe and new president Walter Hamada wanted to focus on making less-expensive movies.
After a continued failure to make consistently good movies in the DCEU and money issues throughout the entire Warner Bros. organization, James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired to replace Hamada at DC Studios, as Warner Bros. went through a company reorganization and combined with the Discovery Channel to form Warner Bros. Discovery. Gunn and Safran plan to start the movie series over as the DC Universe (DCU), getting rid of most actors including Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Ray Fisher, and starting over with a brand-new storyline.
Movies
The first movie in the DCEU was Man of Steel (2013), which was followed by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), Wonder Woman (2017), Aquaman (2018), Shazam! (2019), Birds of Prey (2020), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), The Suicide Squad (2021), Black Adam (2022), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) and The Flash (2023) with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) being the last movie of the franchise. The Tim Burton Batman movies Batman and Batman Returns became part of the DCEU in The Flash (2023) through time travel. The Flash is planned to "reboot" the DCEU into the DCU, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom planned to wrap up the DCEU storyline before the first DCU movie Superman: Legacy comes out in 2025 with a brand-new Superman.
A movie about Batgirl titled Batgirl was going to be released in 2022 through HBO Max, but it was cancelled by Warner Bros. in August of that year.
Other projects were in many stages of development before James Gunn decided to reboot, including Justice League Dark, a third Wonder Woman movie, and untitled solo movies for Supergirl, and other characters.
Television shows for HBO Max include Peacemaker (2022). Shows being made is another Suicide Squad spin-off, and Green Lantern Corps.
Box office money made
Box office performance
| Film | U.S. release date | Box office gross | All-time ranking | Budget | Ref(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. and Canada | Other territories | Worldwide | U.S. and Canada | Worldwide | ||||
| Man of Steel | June 14, 2013 | $291,045,518 | $377,000,000 | $668,045,518 | 99 | 134 | $225 million | [2] |
| Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | March 25, 2016 | $330,360,194 | $543,277,334 | $873,637,528 | 67 | 71 | $250 million | [3] |
| Suicide Squad | August 5, 2016 | $325,100,054 | $421,746,840 | $746,846,894 | 70 | 109 | $175 million | [4] |
| Wonder Woman | June 2, 2017 | $412,815,408 | $410,009,114 | $822,824,522 | 31 | 83 | $149 million | [5] |
| Justice League | November 17, 2017 | $229,024,295 | $428,902,692 | $657,926,987 | 155 | 137 | $300 million | [6] |
| Aquaman | December 21, 2018 | $335,061,807 | $813,424,079 | $1,148,485,886 | 63 | 23 | $200 million | [7] |
| Shazam! | April 5, 2019 | $140,371,656 | $225,600,000 | $365,971,656 | 425 | 366 | $100 million | [8] |
| Birds of Prey | February 7, 2020 | $84,158,461 | $117,700,000 | $201,858,461 | 925 | 832 | $85 million | [9] |
| Wonder Woman 1984 | December 25, 2020 | $46,801,036 | $120,000,000 | $166,801,036 | 1,894 | 1,031 | $200 million | [10] |
| The Suicide Squad | August 5, 2021 | $55,817,425 | $111,600,000 | $167,417,425 | 1,793 | 1,233 | $185 million | [11] |
| Total | $2,250,555,854 | $3,569,260,059 | $5,819,815,913 | 11 | 10 | $1.87 billion | [12][13] | |
Recurring cast and characters
List indicator(s)
This section shows characters who will appear or have appeared in three or more franchises.
- An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the movie, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
- A indicates an appearance through archival footage.
- C indicates a cameo role.
- E indicates an appearance not included in the theatrical cut.
- G indicates a guest appearance in the season.
- P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
- S indicates an appearance through use of special effects.
- U indicates an uncredited appearance.
References
- Ahmed, Tufayel (August 12, 2016). "Exclusive: How 'Shazam!' movie will build on Warner Bros.' recent DC Comics misfires". Newsweek. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- "Man of Steel (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 16, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- "Suicide Squad (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- "Wonder Woman (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 25, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
- "Justice League (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- Justice League production budget: "'Justice League': Warner Bros. CEO Reportedly Mandated a Runtime Under 2 Hours". Collider. November 6, 2017. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- "Aquaman (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- Aquaman production budget: D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 28, 2019). "James Wan's $1B+ 'Aquaman' Became DC's Lifeboat After 'Justice League' Debacle: No. 5 In 2018 Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- "Shazam! (2019)". Box Office Mojo. April 6, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- "Birds of Prey (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- "Wonder Woman 1984". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
- "The Suicide Squad". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
- "Movie Franchises and Brands Index". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- "DC Extended Universe Index". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 28, 2018.