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Released
1978 · FILM

Superman

Discovering his Kryptonian heritage and the truth about his powers, young Clark Kent must embrace his destiny as Superman while struggling to protect his identity and the people he loves from those who would exploit his alien abilities.

“You'll believe a man can fly.”

Directed by
Richard Donner, John Barry Nm0058045
Written by
Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster
Rated
MPA · PG
Runtime
143 min
ActionAdventureSci-Fi

Synopsis

Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter at the Daily Planet, works alongside Lois Lane, the woman he is fond of. When the villainous Lex Luthor devises a scheme to take over the world, Clark must call upon his superhero identity to stop him.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Directors

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

A crew of 835+ credited

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Stuart BairdShot by Geoffrey UnsworthScored by John WilliamsDesigned by John BarrySound by Norman BollandCostumes by Yvonne BlakeStunts by Vic ArmstrongVFX by Mark Freund

Box Office

1978 · Box office

💰 Box-office hit — grossed 5.5× its budget

Why 2.5×?

Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).

Worldwide gross

$300.5M

Budget$55.0M
Worldwide gross$300.5M
break-even (2.5×)

US & Canada: $134.2M — 45% of worldwide · International: $166.3M (55%)

Compare across the franchise →

Re-release box office

2018394 theaters
$336K($442K today)

Domestic gross earned in theatrical re-release, by year · adjusted for inflation

Full synopsis

Versions & cuts

  • Extended Version· 188 min
  • 2000 restoration· 151 min · 2000
  • 1980 video release· 127 min · 1980

Also known as

  • Superman – Der Filmde
  • Superman: The Movieen
  • (TV Title)Super-Homem
Release dates around the world2 countries · show
  • United StatesDec 10, 1978
  • United KingdomDec 13, 1978

Companies

ProductionDovemead Films, Film Export A.G., International Film Production
DistributionWarner Bros., Apex, Columbia-EMI-Warner, EMI, Roadshow Films
Special effectsCamera Effects, Cinema Research, Continental Camera Systems, Delecluse Realisations
Other companiesVan der Veer Photo Effects, Rank Post Productions Ltd., Vee Films, Anvil Studios, The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO)

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