Industry experts recently revealed the most profitable superhero film of 2023, which turned out to be Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Last year wasn’t a good one for superhero films, as DC and Marvel both put out record-breaking flops that failed to generate interest from audiences. However, there were a few successful superhero movies in 2023, and one brought in a significant amount of profit for its studio, despite not being the top-grossing film of the year.

According to Deadline, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the most profitable superhero film of 2023. The sequel to 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse grossed $690 million worldwide on a budget between $100-150 million. It also brought in revenue from VOD, streaming, and television, which boosted the overall gross. After factoring in marketing, production costs, distribution costs, and interest, Across the Spider-Verse had a net profit of $328 million, the most of any 2023 superhero film, and ahead of other 2023 blockbusters, like Wonka, Five Nights At Freddy’s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and Oppenheimer.

How Spider-Man: Across the Universe Became The Most Profitable Superhero Movie Of 2023

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Earned More Overall, But Had More Expenses

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2023. The James Gunn-directed film grossed $845.6 million worldwide and had a combined revenue of $674 million. However, Guardians 3 had a budget of $250 million and had significantly higher costs than Across the Spider-Verse. As a result, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s total profit was $124 million, over $200 million less than Across the Spider-Verse.

Regarding quality, both films received stellar reviews from critics and audiences. Guardians 3 received an 82% critics score, but Across the Spider-Verse received a higher critics’ score of 95%. Many of the other superhero films released in 2023 didn’t receive great reviews, so excellent word-of-mouth and trust in these franchises kept audiences coming back to the theater.

However, Spider-Verse‘s success indicates to the MCU that excellent superhero movies can be made without massive budgets. The animation for Spider-Verse is so impressive, and it doesn’t require a colossal budget. Part of the reason The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania flopped is that they failed to meet the box office gross required to make up their $200+ million budgets. Guardians 3 is still a huge win for Marvel, but imagine how much more money the studio would bring in if they shrunk the production costs. The profitability of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse certainly offers a lesson that all studios could learn about how to produce superhero movies.