Back in 2025, audiences worldwide were treated to the very first film in the new iteration of the DC Universe. When James Gunn and Peter Safran became co-CEOs of DC Studios, they planned to launch a brand-new interconnected franchise that would, hopefully, have a bit more direction than the one before it. The very first step in achieving this goal came in the form of 2025's Superman, a critically acclaimed film directed by Gunn himself. Now, audiences worldwide find themselves at the next stop on the road thanks to the release of Supergirl.
The Girl of Steel is the star of an intergalactic adventure based on one of DC's most iconic comic book series. Fresh off the moderate box office success of Superman, Warner Bros. might've been banking on yet another win for its new universe. But despite it being early days, Supergirl is already tracking to make box office history... although not the good kind.
Early box office numbers suggest Supergirl will become the DCU's first flop
Flying too close to the sun may not always be the very best call. Supergirl grossed $8.2 million from advance screenings and Thursday previews, which is well below the $22.5 million Superman grossed during that same period. Furthermore, Supergirl earned $18 million domestically from Friday showings across 3,602 theaters. Unfortunately, the latest DCU project couldn't soar to the No. 1 position at the box office, as Toy Story 5 currently holds that spot after grossing $21 million on domestic Friday showings.
Supergirl is now tracking to have a domestic opening weekend of $40 million. That would put it above Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn — which grossed $33 million on its opening weekend—but below The Flash (2023), which opened to $55 million. Unfortunately, this does not bode well for the box office success of Kara Zor-El's latest adventure.
According to a report by The Wrap, insiders at Warner Bros. say that Supergirl should gross $300 million at the global box office to be considered "a win." However, The Flash (2023) culminated its theatrical run with $271.4 million at the global box office, while Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn ended up grossing $205.3 million. If early numbers are anything to go by, Supergirl should fall somewhere in between, failing to cross its goal of $300 million.
Supergirl was in a tricky position to find huge commercial success in the first place. For starters, Toy Story 5 has been breaking box office records, and while Pixar's latest film was bound to have a second-weekend drop, it is on track to surpass the $1 billion mark. Competition doesn't end there, as highly anticipated films like Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are just around the corner, and they are likely to impact how much Supergirl can gross in the long run.
Another big problem is Supergirl's early reviews. While there's a lot of enjoyment to be found in Kara's latest adventure, critics don't seem to think that this is the case. The film currently holds a 57% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, which, for reference, is lower than Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder. On the contrary, Supergirl sits at a 76% audience approval score, but it's hard to deny that the original wave of bad press could've affected the film's image.
There's still a world where Supergirl could manage to reach the $300 million mark at the box office, but the probabilities are very low based on early numbers. As such, we might be looking at the DCU's first-ever failure, which doesn't bode well for the franchise considering that this is just its second-ever film. To make matters more complicated, Clayface is the next DCU project on the horizon, and while test screenings are reportedly positive, there's no denying that an R-rated project starring a B-list villain will have a hard time securing huge box office numbers.
It looks like the DCU's next big hit won't come this year, and it won't be until the release of Man of Tomorrow next year that another win will be in store for the saga. On the bright side, Supergirl could still manage to cushion the blow with merchandise sales. Furthermore, there's still a chance that the film will become a streaming phenomenon. But even with those points in consideration, things are off to an underwhelming start.
Supergirl is now in theaters.
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