Director James Gunn‘s Superman didn’t embarrass itself last weekend when it debuted in theaters across the globe. Although the movie didn’t quite meet expectations internationally, it more than made up for that by overperforming in domestic theaters. In just three days, Superman has grossed more than $200 million globally, handily outperforming multiple past superhero movies. For instance, it has already overtaken the $190 million global box office haul of Superman II, and the $219 million lifetime haul of Ryan Reynolds‘ widely mocked Green Lantern feature. Superman has also overtaken one of director Zack Snyder‘s most enduring movies, one that underwhelmed at the box office when it was originally released in 2009.

With $220 million worldwide, Superman is passing its reported budget of $225 million as we speak. The movie will eventually gross around $600 million worldwide, which would be a decent-enough result, considering the historically unreliable box office appeal of the property. Superman is supposed to kick-start a new shared universe of films and shows, spearheaded by Gunn and his producing partner, Peter Safran. Their franchise seems to have gotten off to a bright start, especially when it comes to critical and fan reception.

It also earned bragging rights by delivering a better opening weekend haul domestically than Snyder’s Man of Steel, the tonally different superhero movie that launched the now-defunct DC Extended Universe back in 2013. While Superman has a long way to go before it passes Man of Steel at the box office, it has already overtaken the $186 million lifetime global haul of Snyder’s Watchmen. His follow-up to the smash-hit 300, Watchmen offered an operatic dissection of the superhero genre, and debuted to intense anticipation the year after The Dark Knight altered the landscape for superhero cinema. But the film underperformed at the box office and received mixed reviews, with many noting its reverence towards the source material as a bug and not a feature.

‘Superman’ Opened to Positive Reviews

Watchmen is currently sitting on a 65% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, while Superman has earned a far healthier 83% rating. The film’s audience score on the aggregator website is much higher, at 93%. Starring David Corenswet, alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Superman was praised by Collider’s Ross Bonaime as “one of the most optimistic, playful, ludicrous, and downright fun Superman films in decades, maybe ever.” You can watch the film in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.