I never once said that box office was a measure of quality. Not once. I also never said it did badly. It's all relative, it was a huge dissapointment to the studio's expectations and whether you want to admit it, just about every fan. No one thought $200 million would be the domestic figure. While not bad it's not good.
I simply said that the movie was a bigger box office dissapointment than the defenders care to admit. I also said that because of the low box office figures, it points to the fact that the public didn't embrace it. That's pretty obvious. I never once said anything about quality. ID4, Transformers, Signs, Rush Hour 2, all crap movies that made more money than Superman Returns. I didn't like SR much, but it was better than all those films.
The box office figures for SR is a combination of things. People didn't embrace it for one reason or another, so the word of mouth was not great and there were few repeat viewings. Those are the two things that make a film a big hit. But, there are dozens of films that I have loved that made nothing at the box office. Ed Wood is a perfect example. It was an enormous flop, but I think it's a classic. Box office has nothing to do with quality, and I never said it did. Box office only has to do with how much the public cares to see it and likes it.