DC Studios' Supergirl has been the talk of the town since its release just a few weeks ago. While the film has generated plenty of discussion for James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DC Universe, it unfortunately hasn't managed to translate into box office success, for the film is repeatedly making history at the movies for all the wrong reasons. And, with what is shaping up to be a shorter-than-hoped box office run, that doesn't appear to be changing this weekend.
Supergirl stars Milly Alcock as the Girl of Steel and it is a spinoff of Gunn's own Superman, which became one of the biggest movies of summer 2025. The franchise buzz and goodwill couldn't help this one from - best case scenario - performing half as well as its predecessor. But few could have predicted just how little it would benefit from it altogether. Unfortunately, the film looks set to repeat its record-setting history this weekend.
Supergirl set for one of the sharpest Week 3 drops in DC movie history
While week-to-week drops are expected for almost all movies throughout their box office runs, Supergirl looks set to continue its historic collapse through its third weekend. The DCU film is currently expected to gross around $2.5 million - $3.5 million domestically across the weekend, which would be a sharp 60% - 70% dropoff from the previous week, further highlighting how the film is struggling to make its mark in a very crowded summer landscape.
This comes after the film's catastrophic 76% decline in Week 2, which was pretty much the final confirmation that its legs weren't going to save it after the unexpectedly low opening weekend. And now, ahead of its third weekend, it's looking like the numbers will continue declining - as it is within range of achieving the sharpest week 3 decline in DC history.
Taking all of that into account, here are the biggest third-weekend declines in DC movies history to give you an idea of where Supergirl is expected to rank among them:
- The Flash (2023) - 72.5% drop
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) - 69% drop
- Supergirl (2026) - 60% - 70% drop (Projected)
- Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) - 59.5% drop
- Birds of Prey (2020) - 59.2% drop
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) - 59% drop
- The Suicide Squad (2021) - 55.3% drop
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - 54.3% drop
Looking at that list above, it's safe - but unfortunate - to say that Supergirl is keeping relatively predictable company here when it comes to box office declines. Fans worried that it might find itself in The Flash territory after those initial numbers came in and that's exactly what has happened. Similarly, those final few chapters of the former DC Extended Universe yielded a number of massive box office bombs (like The Flash and Shazam! Fury of the Gods) which were explained away by the idea that this particular shared universe was ending. Supergirl finding itself among these movies as only the second theatrical installment of the new DC Universe is not a good sign.
While there were hopes that the unfounded hate towards the movie ahead of its release might turn into a fan campaign in which people went out to support the movie, it didn't materalize in the larger-than-life way that it needed to in order to make up for general audiences' dismissal of it. And, honestly, Supergirl had a lot to overcome as it was releasing in the midst of a very crowded big screen landscape.
While there aren't any superhero movies on the horizon until July 31's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the film lost the box office battle with family-friendly films like Toy Story 3 (which opened the week before it) and Minions and Monsters (which opened the week after it). Therefore, if any families were considering heading out to see Kara Zor-El and Krypto the Superdog, they may well have opted for a more family-friendly affair - especially as both films were received much, much better than Supergirl. And that prevented it from even opening No. 1 at the box office.
It also lost the alien / sci-fi battle to Steven Spielberg's Disclosure Day, which has enjoyed slightly better-than-expected legs after strong word-of-mouth propelled it to a much stronger opening weekend (two weeks before Supergirl's release) than initially predicted. All of these losses eventually resulted in DC's own Peter Safran issuing a statement to address the failure.
Perhaps the biggest loss that the film is facing now is screens. With it continuing to underperform, theaters are already beginning to reduce the showtimes and theater showings altogether. And with Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day officially on the horizon, it's going to be pushed from more and more screens in the days and weeks ahead - once again reducing its box office takings.
DC Studios is reportedly fast-tracking Supergirl's digital release date to make up for the significant box office losses. While it won't offset many of the costs, it's probably a wise idea to introduce it to the new market as soon as possible - because, with just $100 million globally to its name and a breakeven point of round $300 million, its box office run is essentially already over.
Supergirl is now in theaters.
Add us as a preferred source on Google