Back on June 22, 2026, Supergirl soared onto the big screen and became the second-ever film to be part of the DC Universe—a new interconnected cinematic franchise aiming to reach unprecedented heights with its latest release. But just a little over a month later, on July 28, Warner Bros. seemingly gave up on the Girl of Steel's latest adventure and decided to release the movie on PVOD platforms, effectively ending its theatrical run on a very underwhelming note.
There are many reasons why Supergirl failed to make a strong showing at the box office. From the get-go, the film had to fight an uphill battle as early reviews were mixed at best and negative at worst. The DCU's latest project was also released in the middle of a very busy summer, with box-office juggernaut Toy Story 5 premiering just a few days earlier, and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey hitting theaters two weeks later. Furthermore, since critically acclaimed ensembles like Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps struggled at the box office, Supergirl was bound to have a hard time reaching a wider audience too.
All of these factors combined resulted in a poor run that made DC history, although not in a good way.
Supergirl has become the lowest-grossing DC movie in the last 22 years
With Supergirl arriving on digital platforms, its theatrical run is all but over—especially considering that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is just around the corner, and early projections suggest the upcoming MCU project could gross as much as $800 million worldwide during its opening weekend alone.
Currently, Kara Zor-El's standalone film sits at a worldwide box-office total of $124.6 million, which would make it DC's lowest-grossing movie since the release of Halle Berry's Catwoman in 2004, which grossed $84.2 million (not adjusting for inflation). Granted, there's still a chance Supergirl will gross a bit more during its fifth weekend, but the movie has already been pulled from over 2,000 venues, and more are soon to come as they make space for more Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey showings. For reference, here are the eight lowest-grossing DC movies released in the last 22 years:
- Supergirl - $124.6 million
- Blue Beetle - $130.8 million
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods - $134.1 million
- The Suicide Squad - $168.7 million
- Wonder Woman 1984 - $169.6 million
- Watchmen - $185.3 million
- Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn - $205.5 million
- DC League of Super-Pets - $207.5 million
As reported by The Wrap, Supergirl needed to gross $300 million to break even and be considered "a success" by Warner Bros. Unfortunately, the film is tracking to represent a $175.4 million loss for the studio, which doesn't bode well for the overall future of the DCU, which is very much in its early days. To make matters more complicated, there is still no word on when we'll see the debuts of Batman or Wonder Woman, two of the biggest heroes in the franchise alongside Superman.
Still, Supergirl's flop hasn't changed the overall direction of the DCU. DC Studios co-CEO and co-chairman Peter Safran acknowledged the movie's failure but stated that he remains confident in the long-term strategy for the saga. As part of this plan, audiences will next witness Lanterns, an HBO series set to star Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan. Next on the road is the release of the third-ever DCU film, Clayface.
There is a lot of skepticism about how well an R-rated, body-horror project like Clayface will perform at the box office. The DCU needs a success on its hands to prove it has legs, so a lot is riding on Matt Hagen's upcoming adventure. On the bright side, 2027 is all but confirmed to provide a big victory for DC thanks to the release of Man of Tomorrow.
The upcoming Superman sequel will feature no shortage of iconic characters, including John Stewart and Guy Gardner's Green Lanterns, Blue Beetle, Hawkgirl, Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and, of course, the Man of Steel himself. Perhaps such a big cinematic event is precisely what's needed to reinvigorate the DCU and make audiences more interested in the future of the franchise. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see whether Supergirl manages to become a success on streaming platforms, as has been the case with other underwhelming superhero releases such as Captain America: Brave New World.
Supergirl is out now in theaters and PVOD platforms.
Add us as a preferred source on Google