On the same day that James Gunn’s Superman opened in U.S. theaters, President Donald Trump posted a meme of himself dressed as the Man of Steel. If there was a collective groan on the Warner Bros. lot, home of DC Studios, it’s no surprise. For years, the studio’s marketing mavens have worked to downplay the very pro-American aspect of the comic book hero when peddling the movie franchise internationally.

Superman opened to a promising $125 million domestically in a major win for Gunn and the Warner Bros.-owned DC Studios, which Gunn also happens to run alongside Peter Safran. Overseas was a different story, where the July summer tentpole debuted to $95 million, behind a projected launch of $100 million to $125 million.

The phrase “truth, justice and the American way” became forever aligned with the iconic character in the 1940s, thanks to the radio show Adventures of Superman. Fast-forward to 2006, when Warner Bros. and director Bryan Singer ditched the “American Way” slogan when marketing Superman Returns to a global audience. By that time — unlike the era when the Superman movies starring Christopher Reeves were released — the foreign box office had become integral to the success of a Hollywood tentpole.

In a major step forward for DC’s film division, Singer’s Superman Returns topped out at $391.1 million globally, with foreign ticket sales making up nearly 49 percent of the total gross. And when Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (notice that Superman wasn’t even mentioned in the title) flew into theaters in 2013, it grossed $670.1 million worldwide, with foreign ticket sales making up nearly 57 percent of the total, not adjusted for inflation. The international haul was $379.1 million, versus a domestic tally of $291 million.

Several years later in 2016, Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fared even better overseas, grossing $544 million — or more than 62 percent of its total cume of $874.4 million (it earned more than $63 million in China alone). Domestically, the sequel grossed $330.4 million, a 38 percent share.

Prior to the pandemic, it wasn’t unheard of for a Hollywood tentpole to see 60 percent to 70 percent of its gross come from overseas. The landscape has changed dramatically since then. Hollywood films can no longer count on China, where the government is making it difficult, if not impossible, for Western films to book screens so as to make room for local nationalist titles. This trend has only gotten worse as the Chinese government retaliates against Trump’s policies. Not to mention that Trump and his administration are a divisive topic across the globe, and not just in China.

Gunn went out of his way to change “the American way” to “the human way” in the film but, so far, Superman is struggling at the international box office. To date, only 42 percent of the film’s gross is coming from overseas. That’s not to say Superman is flailing overall; to the contrary, it crossed the $400 million mark globally in less than two weeks, including $236.2 million domestically and $125 million overseas through July 20.

Gunn is well aware of the difficult predicament overseas and — without referring to Trump directly — said in a recent interview “it also affects things that we have a certain amount of anti-American sentiment around the world right now. It isn’t really helping us. So I think it’s just a matter of letting something grow. But again, for us, everything’s been a total win. Having the movie come out and be something that has been embraced by people everywhere — this is just the seed of the tree that Peter and I have been watering for the past three years. So to be able to have it start off so positively has been incredibly overwhelming.acknowledges that current political times.”

In addition to real-life world affairs and the Trump regime, Superman is facing fierce competition from Universal and Amblin’s Jurassic World Rebirth, which opened less than two weeks before over the long Fourth of July holiday. Case in point: Rebirth‘s worldwide total through July 20 stood at a dino-mite $648 million, including $468.8 million overseas. And it’s defied all odds in earning $72 million in China, while Superman barely cracked $7 million in its opening despite an on-the-ground visit from Gunn and Safran.

To date, Superman is faring best in the U.K., where it has earned $22.3 million through June 20 — its second weekend — followed by Mexico ($16.6 million), Australia ($11 million), France ($8.2 million) and China ($8.5 million). DC insiders believe the film has plenty of time to improve its fortunes, even overseas, thanks to strong word of mouth and even with the entry this weekend of Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Studios don’t envy the position DC and Superman are in when it comes to the overseas box office results so far. “The movie is doing well enough overseas, but they’ve got to be disappointed,” notes one rival studio executive.

This story appeared in the July 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.