The DC reboot once looked like a rare win in a tired superhero market. Superman kicked things off last summer with about $618 million worldwide and a strong public response. Warner Bros. and DC Studios framed it as a clean reset under James Gunn and Peter Safran, with a clear plan and steady leadership.
That early confidence hasn’t carried over. Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock, opened in June with just $37.1 million domestic and $62.6 million globally. Reviews landed in the middle. The film never built momentum in the weeks that followed, which is usually a warning sign for a big-budget release.
Now the totals are hard to ignore. According to Forbes, Supergirl has reached about $108 million worldwide and is slowing down to less than $1 million per day. That puts it on track as the lowest-performing DC tentpole in over two decades. The last comparable result came from Catwoman in 2004, a film widely criticized at the time.
On paper, Catwoman still earned less, with about $82 million worldwide. Adjusted for inflation, that total rises to roughly $149 million. By that measure, Supergirl may be the weakest DC theatrical release in modern terms. It also trails more recent disappointments like Blue Beetle at $130 million and Shazam! Fury of the Gods at $134 million. It would need tens of millions more just to match those numbers.
The comparison doesn’t stop there. Its performance now lines up with Sony’s Madame Web, another comic book film that struggled to connect with audiences. Some analysts argue that Supergirl isn’t nearly as poor in quality, pointing to Alcock’s performance as a consistent bright spot even in mixed reviews.
The larger issue appears to be financial math. Warner Bros. reportedly spent about $170 million to produce the film and another $120 million to market it. That puts the break-even point near $300 million. For a lesser-known character released into a crowded summer, that target always looked ambitious.
Alcock, making her feature debut, reportedly earned around $400,000 with no backend deal. That limits added costs, but the studio still faces a projected loss between $100 million and $125 million. The focus now shifts to what comes next rather than what went wrong here.
The new DC Universe still has plans in motion. A lower-budget project, Clayface, is set for October with an R rating and a reported $40 million budget, but does anyone care about that villain if Batman isn’t in it? James Gunn is also developing a Superman follow-up titled Man of Tomorrow, expected in 2027, with both the Blue Beetle and Alcock’s Supergirl set to return.
Two films in, DC can survive a stumble. Another result like this would be harder to spin. The early promise of a steady reboot now looks less certain, and the margin for error is shrinking fast.
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English (US) · 