| Years: | 2013–2024 |
| Italic Title: | no |
| DC Animated Movie Universe | |
| Caption: | DC logo used between 2016 and 2024. |
| Otherdata1: | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
| Otherlabel1: | Distributed by |
| Otherlabel2: | Country |
| Otherdata2: | United States |
The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an American media franchise and shared universe of animated films distributed between 2013 and 2024 by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. Based on characters from the DC Universe (DC Comics), the franchise is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.
The main film series are split into two story arcs with different continuities. The first story arc began in 2013 with and ended in 2020 with , while the second story arc, which was nicknamed as the "Tomorrowverse", began later that year with and concluded in 2024 with the trilogy.
The franchise comprises twenty-five films overall, with tie-in media including 4 short films, one web series and two digital comics.
The franchise is initially loosely based on a set of New 52 storylines from the DC Universe. Following a teaser in the franchise's first film , a five-film story arc loosely based on the "Darkseid War" event written by Geoff Johns, started from and was later revisited in The Death of Superman, Reign of the Supermen and concluded in .[1]
After the first story arc ended, screenwriter Ernie Altbacker teased the possibility of a new project related to that continuity. He said that "the way we ended it... it's really like a tough balancing act: It ends something on a bittersweet yet hopeful note, and I'll just say, people who are saying, 'Oh man, we're not going to get anymore of these!' ...you're not losing something, you're gaining something new..."[2]
The DC Showcase short film Constantine: The House of Mystery was released in May 2022 and is a narrative sequel to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.[3]
Pre-production of the DCAMU's second story arc began in 2018 when Butch Lukic and Jim Krieg decided to plan out a ten-film story arc that would be set after the events of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which ends the first story arc with a universal reset. The arc itself originally was not planned to have the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline as a major plot point, but these plans were eventually changed once executives from Warner Bros. Animation asked for it to serve as the finale.[4]
Lukic and Krieg were also unaware of the Arrowverse's plans for their own adaptation at the time and only found out when Eric Carrasco contacted them, since he served as a writer for Justice League vs. the Fatal Five and knew them personally.[5]
The franchise's second story arc has the art style and storyline being carried over to further films that were set in the same continuity. It gained the nickname of "Tomorrowverse" after the release of .[6]
Constantine: The House of Mystery continues certain story elements and helps set up the plot, which was later confirmed to be a three-part storyline and serves as the overall conclusion to the DCAMU, with all the remaining films being released in 2024.[7]
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First story arc "New 52" (2013–2020) | ||||
| Jay Oliva | Jim Krieg | James Tucker | ||
| Heath Corson | ||||
| Son of Batman | Ethan Spaulding | Joe R. Lansdale Ethan Spaulding | ||
| Heath Corson James Robinson | ||||
| Batman vs. Robin | Jay Oliva | J. M. DeMatteis | ||
| Justice League vs. Teen Titans | Sam Liu | Alan Burnett Bryan Q. Miller | ||
| Justice League Dark | Jay Oliva | Ernie Altbacker J. M. DeMatteis | ||
| Sam Liu | Ernie Altbacker | |||
| Alan Burnett | Sam Liu | |||
| The Death of Superman | Jake Castorena Sam Liu | Peter J. Tomasi | Sam Liu Amy McKenna | |
| Reign of the Supermen | Sam Liu | Jim Krieg Tim Sheridan | James Tucker | |
| Batman: Hush | Justin Copeland | Ernie Altbacker | Amy McKenna | |
| Justin Copeland Sam Liu | William Moulton Marston H. G. Peter Mairghread Scott | Sam Liu Amy McKenna | ||
| Matt Peters Christina Sotta | Ernie Altbacker Mairghread Scott Christina Sotta | James Tucker | ||
| Second story arc: "Tomorrowverse" (2020–2024) | ||||
| Chris Palmer | Tim Sheridan | Jim Krieg Kimberly S. Moreau | ||
| April 27, 2021 | Jeff Wamester | Jeremy Adams Meghan Fitzmartin | ||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One | Chris Palmer | Tim Sheridan | ||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two | ||||
| Jeff Wamester | Ernie Altbacker John Semper | Jim Krieg Sam Register | ||
| Legion of Super-Heroes | Josie Campbell | Jim Krieg Butch Lukic Kimberly S. Moreau | ||
| Jeremy Adams Ernie Altbacker Josie Campbell | Jim Krieg Kimberly S. Moreau | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One | Jim Krieg | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two | April 23, 2024 | |||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three | July 16, 2024 | |||
| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Home media release | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightwing and Robin | Bruce Timm | Scott Lobdell Greg Pak Charles Soule | ||||
| Adam Strange[8] | Butch Lukic | J.M. DeMatteis Butch Lukic | Butch Lukic Amy McKenna |
| ||
| Kamandi The Last Boy on Earth | [9] | April 27, 2021 | Milo Neuman | Paul Giacoppo |
| |
| Blue Beetle | Jeremy Adams | Jennifer Keene |
| |||
| Constantine: The House of Mystery[10] | [11] | Matt Peters | Ernie Altbacker | James Krieg Rick Morales |
| |
| Title | Episodes | U.S. release date | Director | Writer | Producer | Production companies | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [12] | 5 (original version) | March 24, 2018 | Doug Murphy | J. M. DeMatteis | Butch Lukic | Berlanti Productions Blue Ribbon Content DC Entertainment Digital eMation Inc. Phantom Four Films Warner Bros. Animation | CW Seed |
| 2 (re-version) | January 17, 2019 |
| Title | Issue(s) | Publication date(s) | Writer | Artist(s) | Colorist(s) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | 12 | March 21, 2018 | Jeff Parker | Agustin Padilla Stefano Raffaele Mathew Dow Smith Cat Staggs | Tony Aviña | DC Digital First |
| The Death of Superman: Part 1 | August 1 — October 17, 2018 | Louise Simonson | Cat Staggs | Wendy Broome |
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay |
| February 19, 2019 | DC Comics | |
| The Death of Superman: The Wake |
| November 26, 2019 |
Sales figures represent DVD and Blu-ray sales in the United States. International sales, digital sales, and rentals are not included.
| Title | U.S. release date | Gross in the 1st three weeks | Gross total | Rotten Tomatoes | IGN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | $2,961,457 | $5,263,783 | 100% (5 reviews)[13] | [14] | |||
| Justice League: War | $3,119,314 | $5,806,863 | 50% (6 reviews)[15] | [16] | |||
| Son of Batman | $4,071,112 | $7,035,303 | 64% (11 reviews)[17] | [18] | |||
| Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | $2,445,009[19] | $4,661,509 | 63% (8 reviews)[20] | [21] | |||
| Batman vs. Robin | $2,537,343 | $4,275,014 | 100% (5 reviews)[22] | [23] | |||
| Batman: Bad Blood | $3,093,355 | $4,884,919 | 100% (5 reviews)[24] | [25] | |||
| Justice League vs. Teen Titans | $2,522,134 | $4,680,315 | 80% (5 reviews)[26] | [27] | |||
| Justice League Dark | $1,286,255 | $3,321,532 | 78% (9 reviews)[28] | [29] | |||
| Teen Titans: The Judas Contract | $1,514,960 | $3,279,855 | 83% (6 reviews)[30] | [31] | |||
| Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | $1,202,526 | $2,880,096 | 88% (8 reviews)[32] | [33] | |||
| The Death of Superman | $4,219,828 | $6,551,111 | 92% (13 reviews)[34] | [35] | |||
| Constantine: City of Demons – The Movie | October 9, 2018 | $750,022 | $1,699,592 | NA (3 reviews)[36] | [37] | ||
| Reign of the Supermen | $3,797,618 | NA (0 reviews)[38] | [39] | ||||
| Batman: Hush | $2,584,555 | $3,603,543 | 88% (17 reviews)[40] | [41] | |||
| The Death and Return of Superman | |||||||
| Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | $764,095 | $1,723,810 | 88% (8 reviews)[42] | [43] | |||
| Justice League Dark: Apokolips War | $1,563,760 | $5,576,143 | 100% (18 reviews)[44] | [45] | |||
| Superman: Man of Tomorrow | 93% (14 reviews)[46] | 7/10[47] | |||||
| Justice Society: World War II | April 27, 2021 | 76% (17 reviews)[48] | 9/10[49] | ||||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part One | 100% (21 reviews)[50] | 8/10[51] | |||||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Part Two | 100% (15 reviews)[52] | 9/10[53] | |||||
| DC Showcase Animated Shorts – Constantine: The House of Mystery | |||||||
| Green Lantern: Beware My Power | 56% (9 reviews)[54] | 4/10[55] | |||||
| Batman: The Long Halloween – Deluxe Edition | |||||||
| Legion of Super-Heroes | 60% (5 reviews)[56] | ||||||
| Justice League: Warworld | 50% (6 reviews)[57] | 6/10[58] | |||||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One | 88% (8 reviews)[59] | 6/10[60] | |||||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two | April 23, 2024 | 17% (6 reviews)[61] | 4/10[62] | ||||
| Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three | July 16, 2024 | 4/10 | [63] |
In 2019, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay and The Death of Superman were nominated for the Golden Reel Award in the category of "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR for Non-Theatrical Animated Long Form Broadcast Media".[64]
In 2020, Superman: Man of Tomorrow was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award in the category of "Best Superhero Movie".