Brightburn

Brightburn is a 2019 American superhero horror film directed by David Yarovesky, written by Brian and Mark Gunn, and produced by James Gunn and Kenneth Huang, starring Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, and Meredith Hagner. It is a dark re-telling of the Superman origin story, in which Brandon Breyer, a young boy of extraterrestrial origin reared on Earth who discovers he has superpowers, uses them to abuse and murder, rather than to save lives. The film was financed by The H Collective, who produced with Troll Court Entertainment. Brightburn was announced as "Untitled James Gunn Horror Project" in December 2017. Gunn produced the film, while his brother Brian and cousin Mark penned the screenplay, which adapts the concept of Superman for explicit horror. Principal photography began in March 2018 and wrapped in May of that same year. Brightburn was released in the United States on May 24, 2019, by Screen Gems and Stage 6 Films. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its visual effects, acting performances, cinematography, humor, and score, but felt that it did not deliver on the full potential of its premise. The film grossed $33.2 million against a production budget of $6–12 million.