James Gunn can be pretty polarizing on social media, especially for fans who find his constant engagement with critics and over-explaining of creative decisions exhausting. While some appreciate his transparency, others see it as defensive or even smug.
Gunn frequently responds to rumors, debunks leaks, and offers behind-the-scenes details—sometimes to the point of spoiling surprises or fueling unnecessary drama.
One of the many things Gunn has “debunked” is the leaked budget for his upcoming “Superman.” He swears it’s $130M cheaper than what a government filing stated.
Warner Bros. and DC have been telling the press that the film’s budget was $225M. However, if you recall, an article published last year in the Columbus Business Journal—citing data from the official Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit website—reported that production on “Superman” actually cost $363M.
Gunn was well aware of the leak and took to social media to deny the reported figure, even going so far as to suggest that the official filing might have been “faked.”
I don’t know if it’s faked or if it’s just some weird form an assistant in the Cleveland office filled out putting random stuff in the blanks.
Now, THR has spoken to a “longtime financier” who claims the $363M figure is far more accurate than the $225M number that Gunn and Warner Bros. are pushing to the press.
Honestly, who should we believe—a figure filed with the government, likely under penalty of perjury, or the studio’s PR spin? It’s hard to imagine they’d lie on a tax filing. Here’s what the official original tax document stated:
Superman Legacy’ filed a tax credit application for $36,972,289 and the full production budget is 363,845,386.00. They have to provide all of this information due to Section 122.85 of the Ohio Code.
This wouldn’t be the first time Warner Bros. has been less than transparent about a film’s budget. Most notably, they did this with The Flash, originally promoting it as having a $200M budget. However, just a few months later, reports revealed the actual cost was closer to $300M— $100M more than what the studio had first claimed.