Welp, it's official: Supergirl is set to go down in history as one of the biggest superhero movie failures of all time. The second film in DC Studios' new DC Universe grossed a disappointing $38 million in its domestic opening weekend which, combined with its equally-disappointing $30 million internationally (making for a global debut of just $68 million), was well below even the lower-end of expectations. And with that, the bulletproof beginning of the DCU has been pierced.
The franchise officially commenced its cinematic wing last summer with Superman, which hurtled itself to a very successful $618 million worldwide (with a stronger-than-expected US performance making up for a slightly lower-than-expected global performance). It also experienced streaming success stories with Creature Commandos and Peacemaker season 2, making Supergirl's failure all the more harmful to the franchise.
People are quick to point fingers and direct blame at the film itself, female-led superhero movies in general, and the overall superhero fatigue. The truth is that none of this is at fault - especially not the first two - and that Supergirl's failure was down to bad timing on so many fronts and questionable execution.
Supergirl should have been a HBO Max series
While Supergirl's quality divided people, it still resonated with enough of the audience to prove that it does, in fact, have one. There is demand for Milly Alcock's Girl of Steel and there is demand for Supergirl in general (remember how successful the six-season TV series was a decade ago?!). The quality isn't the problem here; it's the execution.
The DC Universe is young, brand new, and just getting started. Kicking things off with Superman was absolutely the right choice - Batman is in a strange spot due to the success of the non-DCU The Batman movies - and it was the success story that the franchise needed at launch. Greenlighting a sequel for 2027 was also the right move, but releasing Supergirl as a stop-gap in between was a huge misstep. The Girl of Steel should have headlined her own HBO Max series instead.
Considering that Supergirl was a space wastern, the $170 million budget is somewhat moderate compared to other films in this genre, so this particular story was always going risk losing money. However, having Kara Zor-El lead her own series would have masked any potential failure. The show is tied to the DC Universe franchise, which is currently building towards Kara's return in Man of Tomorrow; it would have made perfect sense to spotlight the character on HBO Max instead.
A Supergirl series would have been a massive success story, and very likely drawn in viewers on a weekly basis. Peacemaker is a much lesser-known DC character and that series proved to be successful enough to warrant a second season. You can rest assured that the Girl of Steel would have had a successful run on that same platform.
Granted, producing a $170 million TV series would have made profitability a tough task, but those details would never have been released to the public in the same way that a film's box office failure would. It simply would have been a successful TV show on a major streaming service, entertaining DC fans
The success of CBS/The CW's Supergirl series is proof that audiences love the character. The success of James Gunn's Superman is proof that audiences are invested in the DC Universe. Fast-tracking the Supergirl movie at a time when all superhero movies just don't produce the takings that they used to was a misfire all around - and DC Studios should have known better.
It was the wrong time to release a Supergirl movie
It's wonderful that the DC Universe is investing a great deal in the Super Family. After Superman's success, it makes sense too. On paper, slotting Supergirl safely in between the first film and its impending 2027 sequel was a good idea. But when you look at the Hollywood landscape in 2026, you realize that it wasn't.
As much as we all want to ignore it, superhero fatigue is a thing. It's less of a thing than haters of the genre would want you to believe it is, but it's still there. While heavy-hitters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman would find ways around that, less mainstream characters will not. Now, it's hard to call Supergirl less-mainstream when she has become one of DC's most recignizable characters, but the box office numbers are pretty telling: In 2026, audiences aren't going to come out for one of the many well-known superheroes in a world-building franchise - unless it's one of the core trinity or a character who has been built up within that franchise for a long period of time.
If Supergirl had been released in 2016, it would have been a mammoth success. Superhero movies were everywhere and they weren't struggling in the way that they are now. And despite mixed receptions, the former DCEU was having a lot of box office success stories - with the critically-reviled Suicide Squad making $749 million and the critically-acclaimed Wonder Woman making $824 million. Had Supergirl been a part of that line-up, it would have easily cleared $500 million at least. Again, remember how popular the Melissa Benoist-led TV series was at that time, too.
A large portion of superhero movies now struggle at the box office. While there will always be Batman, Superman, and a multitude of Marvel movies, this next phase is going to see less non-mainstream heroes headlining films. Although Marvel Studios turned lesser-known heroes into household names with the likes of Ant-Man and Black Panther, more recent attempts have failed due to the overexposure and dilution of both that specific franchise and superheroes in general.
That's not to say that it will be this way forever. Had DC Studios successfully built up a long-running DC Universe in which Supergirl herself played a solid supporting role in, a Supergirl movie down the line could have been a major win for them. But the film was set up to fail by beint sent out in the aftermath of Superman's success. Now, two movies in and the DC Universe is already showing signs of fatigue - signs that could have easily been avoided if the Girl of Steel either took flight on TV or launched when the franchise was much better established. And, for the record, launching it the week after Toy Story 5 was an error of judgement so obvious that DC really should have seen it coming.
All in all, Supergirl deserved a lot better.
Supergirl is in theaters now.
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