DC Studios returned to theaters with Supergirl this weekend, about a year after co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran launched their new DC Universe. Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by newcomer Ana Nogueira, the film gave Milly Alcock her first lead role as Kara Zor-El (aka Supergirl) following a brief appearance in 2025’s Superman. The story drew from Tom King’s “Woman of Tomorrow” comic run and followed Kara on a revenge mission after her 23rd birthday.
Early reactions signaled trouble. Reviews settled in the high 50’s percent range on Rotten Tomatoes many critics praised Alcock’s performance and Jason Momoa’s turn as Lobo, but those positives were outweighed by complaints about uneven pacing, bad writing, weak visual effects, and a tone that felt too dark for general audiences. Those mixed responses spread quickly online and undercut momentum going into opening weekend. The B- CinemaScore didn’t help either, a score that might have been acceptable on a school report card, but not a big studio superhero movie.
According to Variety, Supergirl earned $7.8 million in Thursday previews domestically and about $13 million worldwide. The film went on to deliver an opening weekend well below expectations, landing at around $38 million in North America. Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro of projected it at nearly $20 million higher ($55M), but it actually came in well below the $55M opening for Ezra Miller’s disasterous solo outing as The Flash (which James Gunn called “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made”). That result places it far behind Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5, which held strong in its second weekend adding an estimated $70 million domestically after its $312 million global debut, including $160 million domestically.
This wide gap highlights a familiar trend. Toy Story 5 continued the franchise’s billion-dollar legacy, following earlier entries that each crossed that mark in 2010 and 2019. Family audiences showed up again, while DC struggled to match that broad appeal. Let’s face it, Superman underpeformed, and it followed a string of box office duds in Shazam 2, Black Adam, Aquaman 2, and The Flash.
For DC Studios, the financial outlook is tightening quickly. Supergirl carried a reported budget near $170 million, meaning it likely needs at least $315 million to $425 million globally to break even, and it looks like it will be a miracle if it crosses $300 million. While Superman reached nearly $620 million last year, this release will not come close to following that trajectory. Its weak debut is undoubtedly raising concerns about the direction of Gunn’s reboot and whether audiences are buying into the studio’s long-term plan.
With mixed word of mouth and strong competition, Supergirl now faces an uphill battle to recover in the weeks ahead. For a DC franchise trying to rebuild trust, this is added pressure at a time when DC cannot afford another setback.
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English (US) · 