21 Years Later, Catwoman’s Box Office Beats A Lot More Superhero Movies Than I Ever Thought It Would

Over two decades after it debuted to a lackluster reception, Catwoman‘s box office results now beat a lot more superhero movies than I imagined they ever would. As a key character in the DC world of Batman, Catwoman is a figure even those not invested in the comics are familiar with, similar to the likes of The Joker or Robin. However, being a popular Batman character alone isn’t enough to merit universal movie success, as the box office of Joker: Folie à Deux has more recently attested to.

Far before Joker‘s divisive sequel, though, DC had previously established this idea via the less than stellar financial and critical reception to Catwoman, which has remained one of the least well-regarded superhero releases for a considerable number of years now. That said, looking at the film’s place in the box office rankings of the superhero genre today, Catwoman‘s results look quite different now that decades have passed, and many other superhero movie installments have found themselves with lower box offices than the 2004 film.

Catwoman Has Been Considered One Of The Worst Superhero Movies Of All Time Since Its Release (& Its Box Office Reflects That)

Conceptually, a Catwoman movie isn’t a bad idea. Exploring the origin story of a key figure in Batman’s life is an idea that proved to be hugely lucrative if handled in specific ways years later with 2019’s Joker, and the sometimes-villain sometimes-hero history of Selina Kyle means the story could be taken in a range of directions without ever going against the source material it draws from. However, the 2004 film’s release saw it almost universally panned, and this reputation remains consistent to this day, with a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 8%, and a Popcornmeter score of 18%.

While a less than stellar critical reception doesn’t always prevent a superhero movie from netting itself a considerable box office sum, it certainly tends to make this kind of financial success unlikely, and this was indeed the case for Catwoman. Catwoman‘s worldwide box office sits at $82 million (via The Numbers), which is a paltry sum compared to its reported budget of around $100 million, and compared to both the majority of other superhero movie releases and many other films released around this time.

For comparison’s sake, 2004’s Shrek 2 garnered $933 million in its own worldwide box office, and fellow superhero movie Spider-Man 2‘s own story netted a $795 million worldwide box office result the same year. Though these are some of the bigger successes from the year, the way they contrast with Catwoman‘s own box office takings highlights just how comparatively little the film ultimately ended up making, especially since even the also less well-regarded 2003 Daredevil movie made more than Catwoman with its own $182 worldwide box office the year prior.

Looking Back In 2025, Catwoman’s Box Office Beats More Other Superhero Movies Than Ever

Catwoman‘s box office results haven’t magically changed over the 21 years since the DC movie released, but its position in the overall lineup of superhero films still manages to look different today. Since a selection of other superhero movies have brought in lower box office results since then, Catwoman‘s place in the overarching lineup of superhero movies and their respective box offices has changed not inconsiderably, despite the film’s lower box office.

In the immediate years after Catwoman‘s release, several superhero movies had worldwide box office numbers that fell below Catwoman‘s own. The closest to Catwoman‘s results in this regard is 2005’s Elektra – which made around $56 million – and is followed up by both The Punisher and Punisher: War Zone, which are reported to have made $54 million and $10 million, respectively.

The years since have seen even more movies come in below Catwoman‘s $82 million mark, with 2020’s The New Mutants having a worldwide box office of $47 million despite being a part Fox’s X-Men movie timeline, and Kraven The Hunter coming in at $60 million and appearing to cement the end of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe movies. Though there are still a considerable number of movies that earned higher box offices in this time, this does bump Catwoman‘s financial results higher in the overall rankings, which is particularly notable given inflation would theoretically make besting its results easier for later releases.

Why Catwoman’s Box Office Results Are Higher Than These Other Superhero Movie Releases

The issues cited with Catwoman‘s story, characters, and overall handling of its premise have been discussed in great detail in the years since its debut, and appear to have had a clear impact on the movie’s overall financials. Catwoman also released in a time where the superhero genre was still to some degree proving itself, which often played its own hand in releases being mixed between considerable financial success and some far lower results. Interestingly, factors like timing and critical reception appear to also explain why several films fared worse at the box office.

Elektra and both Punisher movies faced some of the same criticisms as Catwoman, which arguably hurt them more given they centered around characters who were less well-known to the general public than a figure so closely tied in to Batman’s lore. Similarly, all three of these movies emerged around the same time as Catwoman, meaning they couldn’t draw on the popularity of the genre in the way that some releases in the MCU could after the franchise had firmly established itself as a cornerstone of modern movies.

More recently, both The New Mutants and Kraven The Last Hunter came as what at the time appeared to be the last movies of their respective universe’s timelines – though the Fox universe has seemingly now been revitalized thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine – and didn’t tie enough to their respective worlds and the overarching stories within them enough to generate audience interest. The New Mutants releasing during a period of the COVID pandemic where many cinemas were closed or otherwise avoided certainly didn’t help its case, and the SSU’s reputation seems to have similarly affected Kraven‘s cinematic popularity.

It’s also worth noting that the rise of streaming in the years since Catwoman‘s release also means those who are fascinated by the less than stellar reviews about a film are more likely to wait for the streaming release – especially as the window between a theatrical and streaming release is often small for movies that have not done well in cinemas. The success of the likes of Kraven The Hunter on Netflix suggests an interest that could have translated to better box office results from those morbidly curious about the story, potentially further explaining how its results compare with Catwoman.

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