The DC Universe Animated Original Movies (DCUAOM; also known as DC Universe Original Movies or DC Universe Movies or DC Animated Movies) are a series of American

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

animated films based on

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

characters and stories. From 2007 to 2022, films were produced primarily by

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

but subsequently fell under

DC Studios DC Studios is an American film and television production company that is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is responsible for the production of live-action and animated films and television series, as well as video games, based ...

. Many films are stand-alone projects that are either adaptations of popular works or original stories. From 2013 to 2024, the

DC Animated Movie Universe The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an American media franchise and shared universe of Animation, animated films distributed between 2013 and 2024 by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. Based on characters from the DC Universe ...

was a subset of this series. The first story arc featured several films that took place in a shared universe, influenced predominantly by "

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

". Following the first arc's conclusion with '' Justice League Dark: Apokolips War'' (2020), the "Tomorrowverse" series was launched beginning with '' Superman: Man of Tomorrow'' that same year and ended with a three-part trilogy, '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths'' (2024). As of 2024, the DCUAOM line released 58 films that made a total of $253 million in sales in the United States and Canada, an average of $5.4 million per film."Box Office History for DC Animated Movie Universe Movies."
The Numbers. Retrieved Sep 9, 2023.

Premise

Unlike earlier animated DC films (most of which also involved

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind '' Batman: ...

and were part of the

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU, also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans) is a Shared universe, shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with ''Batman ...

), the films in the line are aimed at a more adult audience, often containing profane language, stronger violence, sexual scenes, and more mature themes. The art styles for the films are also generally more realistically proportionate. The majority of the films are rated PG-13 by the

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...

except ''

All-Star Superman ''All-Star Superman'' is a twelve-issue American comic book series featuring Superman that was published by DC Comics. The series ran from November 2005 to October 2008 (on sale date). The series was written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Frank Qu ...

'' and '' Green Lantern: Emerald Knights'', which are rated PG, and '' Batman: The Killing Joke'', ''

Justice League Dark Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team made their debut in ''Justice League Dark'' #1 (September 2011). The team features some of the more supernatural characters in t ...

'', '' Batman: Gotham by Gaslight'', '' Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay'', '' Justice League Dark: Apokolips War'', '' Batman: Soul of the Dragon'', '' Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two'', ''

Injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but ...

'', and '' Justice League: Warworld'', which are rated R. Many of the films are adapted from stories originally featured in DC print comics and graphic novels. , 53 feature films and fourteen short films have been released. In terms of continuity, the films are usually stand-alone, with exceptions being '' Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'' and its sequel '' Superman/Batman: Apocalypse'', '' Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths'' and its sequel '' Justice League: Doom'', the

and its "Tomorrowverse" arc. From 2007 to 2015, most of the films were voice-directed by

Andrea Romano Andrea Romano may refer to: * Andrea Romano (voice director) Andrea Romano (born December 3, 1955) is an American retired casting director, voice director, and voice actress whose work includes '' Batman: The Animated Series'', ''Animaniacs'', ' ...

, the last one being '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters''. Then from 2016 to 2024, duties were handed to Wes Gleason, starting with '' Batman: Bad Blood'' up until the three-part '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths'' trilogy. The films are generally released direct-to-video, but ''Batman: The Killing Joke'', ''Batman and Harley Quinn'', ''

The Death of Superman "The Death of Superman" is a crossover story event mostly featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and ...

'' and ''

Reign of the Supermen "The Death of Superman" is a crossover story event mostly featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and ...

'' were also given limited releases in theaters.

Released films

Short films

DC Showcase

Other short films

Other projects

Unannounced projects

Beyond the list of announced projects, creators involved in various levels at DC Comics have brought up names of possible future projects. *

has said that he would like to do a full-length animated

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

film following the positive reception of '' DC Showcase: Green Arrow''. *DC's ex-executive editor

Dan DiDio Dan DiDio (; born October 13, 1959) is an American writer, editor, and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee. '' Wizar ...

has expressed interest in seeing the popular 2007–2008 ''

Sinestro Corps War "Sinestro Corps War" is an American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover event published by DC Comics in its ''Green Lantern'' and ''Green Lantern Corps'' titles. Written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons and drawn by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleas ...

'' comic storyline adapted. * In 2009, Timm also expressed his interest to make an animated ''

JLA/Avengers ''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, wi ...

'' adaptation. *

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash (comics), Flash, and Superman has drawn critical accl ...

revealed that

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

would like to use unproduced screenplays as a basis for new animated films, such as J. J. Abrams' '' Superman: Flyby''. * Producer James Tucker has spoken about wanting a

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

-centered Justice League film. * At Comic-Con, Timm also had expressed interest in an animated adaptation of the ''

Batman R.I.P. Batman R.I.P. is an American comic book story arc published in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #676–681 by DC Comics. Written by Grant Morrison, penciled by Tony Daniel, and with covers by Alex Ross, the story pits the superhero Batman against t ...

'' storyline. * '' Batman: The Killing Joke'' screenwriter

Brian Azzarello Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series ''100 Bullets'', published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo. ...

had stated that he would like to adapt his graphic novel '' Joker'' into an animated film. * Timm has mentioned that another ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (also known as ''Batman of the Future'' in Europe) is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, and serving as the sequel to both '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and '' The New Ba ...

'' film is a possibility, and in August 2017, Tucker stated in his

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account that discussions about a possible ''Batman Beyond'' film occur several times at the studio, while he also stated that a potential ''

Static Shock ''Static Shock'' is an American superhero animated television series based on the Milestone Media/DC Comics superhero Static. It premiered on September 23, 2000, on the WB Television Network's Kids' WB programming block. ''Static Shock'' ran ...

'' film set in the

is possible as the studio is always interested in Static. *

J. M. DeMatteis John Marc DeMatteis (; born December 15, 1953) is an American writer of comic books, television and novels. Biography Early career J. M. DeMatteis's earliest aspirations were to be a rock musician and comic book artist. He began playing in ban ...

expressed interest in scripting an adaptation of his

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

story arc ''Going Sane'' and a

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

film set in the

. This partially came into play with the film '' Justice League: Gods and Monsters'', visually and aesthetically invoking the DCAU, confirmed to be in an alternate timeline to it. * Filmmaker and comic book writer

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

mentioned at

Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo Calgary Expo, known in full as the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, is an annual fan convention held at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally taking place in the BMO Centre, the show began in 2005 as a comic book conventio ...

that he met with Johns, where he pitched an animated

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...

film that he wrote for DC. * An animated film featuring characters from the

Milestone Media Milestone Media Company LLC is the media company which created the Milestone Comics line, which were published and distributed by DC Comics. Milestone Media created the source material that was adapted as the '' Static Shock'' animated series. T ...

imprint was announced at DC Fandome in October 2021. The film was set to be written by Brandon Thomas and will feature "more than one character" according to Milestone co-founder

Denys Cowan Denys Cowan (; born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media. Early life Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s T ...

. The announcement included promotional concept art of Static, Hardware,

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

, and

Rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

Cancelled projects

* Plans for sequels to the 2009 films ''Wonder Woman'' and '' Green Lantern: First Flight'' were shelved, as well as a planned film based on the 2003 miniseries '' Batgirl: Year One''. Slower sales of the ''Wonder Woman'' film were cited, although sales figures indicate that it was at least the #8 best-selling of the 25 DC Universe films released (4 of the films that ranked higher than it include Blu-ray sales which have not been released for ''Wonder Woman''). * In 2010, Timm stated that the production team originally planned to make an

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

film, but at the end, the executives of Warner Bros. cancelled the project because their expectations about marketing were very low. * During an interview in October 2016,

Jay Oliva Jay Oliva (born 1976) is an American film director, producer, and storyboard artist working at Los Angeles–based animation studio Lex+Otis. Career Oliva first started in animation as a cleanup artist for the animated Fox TV series ''Spider ...

revealed that he had an idea for a sequel to '' Batman: Assault on Arkham'', but following Oliva's departure from

in 2017, as well as the film's apparent decanonization in '' Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League'', the project may have been pulled. * In 2023, the creative team for '' Justice League: Warworld'' planned to develop a film adaptation of the '' Kingdom Come'' comic book miniseries, but the idea was discarded by

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1996). He then began working as a director, starting wi ...

and

Peter Safran Peter Safran (born 22 November 1965) is a British and American film producer, studio executive, and talent manager. He currently serves as the co-chairperson and co-CEO of DC Studios alongside James Gunn. Early life Peter Safran is the son of ...

after they were named CEOs of

Reception

Sales performance

Sales figures below represent, when available, DVD and Blu-ray sales in the United States. Theatrical ticket, digital, and rental sales are not included.

Critical response

Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article.

Continuities

Stand-alone films

The following films are stand-alone, and do not share continuities with each other or other films (note exceptions). *'' Superman: Doomsday'' (2007) *'' Justice League: The New Frontier'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) *'' Green Lantern: First Flight'' (2009) *'' Batman: Under the Red Hood'' (2010) **'' Batman: Death in the Family'' (interactive short) (2020) *''

'' (2011) *'' Green Lantern: Emerald Knights'' (2011) *'' Superman vs. The Elite'' (2012) *'' Superman: Unbound'' (2013) *'' Justice League: Gods and Monsters'' (2015) **'' Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles'' (web series) (2015) *'' Batman: The Killing Joke'' (2016) *'' Batman: Gotham by Gaslight'' (2018) *'' Superman: Red Son'' (2020) *'' Batman: Soul of the Dragon'' (2021) * ''

'' (2021) *'' Catwoman: Hunted'' (2022) *'' Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons'' (2022) *'' Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham'' (2023) *''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

'' (Two Parts) (2024)

Superman/Batman

This continuity is based on the ''

Superman/Batman ''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly American comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ' ...

'' storyline. *'' Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'' (2009) *'' Superman/Batman: Apocalypse'' (2010)

Justice League (JLA)

This continuity is based on '' JLA'' storylines published in 2000. *'' Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths'' (2010) *'' Justice League: Doom'' (2012)

''Dark Knight Returns''

This continuity is based on

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...

's '' Batman: Year One'' arc and ''

The Dark Knight Returns ''The Dark Knight Returns'' (alternatively titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' but originally titled ''Batman: The Dark Knight'') is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller ...

''. *'' Batman: Year One'' (2011) **'' DC Showcase: Catwoman'' (short film) (2011) *'' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' Pt. 1 (2012) *'' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' Pt. 2 (2013)

DC Animated Movie Universe

A shared universe, with influences from ''

'' continuity and various DC eras and productions. *'' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'' (2013) *'' Justice League: War'' (2014) *''

Son of Batman ''Son of Batman'' is a 2014 American animated superhero film which is the 20th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the third film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. It is an adaptation of Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's 20 ...

'' (2014) *'' Justice League: Throne of Atlantis'' (2015) **'' Nightwing and Robin'' (45 second short film) (2015) *'' Batman vs. Robin'' (2015) *'' Batman: Bad Blood'' (2016) *''

Justice League vs. Teen Titans ''Justice League vs. Teen Titans'' is a 2016 American animated superhero film directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Alan Burnett and Bryan Q. Miller. It is the 26th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the seventh film in the ...

'' (2016) *''

'' (2017) **'' Constantine: City of Demons'' (web series later compiled into a film) (2018) *'' Teen Titans: The Judas Contract'' (2017) *'' Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay'' (2018) **''Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay'' (sequel comic) (2018) *''

'' (2018) **''The Death of Superman: Part 1'' (prequel/sequel comic) (2018) *''

'' (2019) *'' Batman: Hush'' (2019) *'' Wonder Woman: Bloodlines'' (2019) *'' Justice League Dark: Apokolips War'' (2020) *'' Constantine: The House of Mystery'' (short film) (2022) ; "Tomorrowverse" *'' Superman: Man of Tomorrow'' (2020) ** ''Adam Strange'' (short film) (2020) * '' Justice Society: World War II'' (2021) * '' Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One'' (2021) * '' Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two'' (2021) ** ''The Losers'' (short film) (2021) ** ''Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth!'' (short film) (2021) ** ''Blue Beetle'' (short film) (2021) * '' Green Lantern: Beware My Power'' (2022) * ''

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...

'' (2023) * '' Justice League: Warworld'' (2023) * '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One'' (2024) * '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Two'' (2024) * '' Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part Three'' (2024)

DC Animated Universe

This continuity is set in the

(although the canonicity is open-ended) *'' Batman and Harley Quinn'' (2017) *'' Justice League vs. the Fatal Five'' (2019)

Other universes

* '' Batman: Gotham Knight'' (set in the Nolanverse, although it is not necessarily considered canon) (2008) * '' Batman: Assault on Arkham'' (set in the

Arkhamverse ''Batman: Arkham'' is a Superhero fiction, superhero Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series based on the DC Comics character Batman, developed by Rocksteady Studios, WB Games Montréal, Armature Studio and Camouflaj, and publis ...

, although '' Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League'' causes a few continuity contradictions) (2014) *'' Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen'' (set in the

RWBY ''RWBY'' (pronounced "Ruby") is an American Anime-influenced animation, animated web series created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. It is set in the fictional world of Remnant, where young people train to become warriors ("Huntsmen" and "Huntres ...

universe) (Two Parts) (2023)

References

External links

DCUAOM @ World's Finest

DC Universe Animated Movies @ BatmanYTB.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:DC Universe Original Animated Movies Lists of American animated films Film series introduced in 2007 2000s English-language films 2010s English-language films 2020s English-language films