“Supergirl,” the second film in the rebooted DC Universe overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran, opened to $38 million domestically and $68 million worldwide this weekend, well below pre-release projections that had pegged the debut between $47 million and $60 million domestically.
Directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, the film finished behind “Toy Story 5,” which held the top spot for a second straight weekend with $70 million domestically. “Supergirl” carries a reported budget between $170 million and $186 million, meaning industry estimates suggest it would need to gross around $425 million globally to break even once marketing costs are factored in. That figure now appears unlikely, with some analysts projecting a total domestic and international haul well short of $300 million.
The film drew mixed reviews, holding a 56 percent critics’ score and a 76 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a B- CinemaScore from opening night audiences, a step down from the A- earned by 2025’s “Superman.” Demographic data cited by trade outlets showed 59 percent of the opening weekend audience was male and 65 percent were over 25, missing the younger female audience the film had targeted. “Supergirl” did set a new high mark for superhero movie openings in IMAX, with premium and large format screens accounting for 51 percent of its weekend gross.
DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran addressed the film’s performance in an interview with The New York Times published Sunday, saying the result was disappointing but framing it as part of a longer arc for the studio. The film is “just one component of a broader, long-term strategy at DC Studios,” Safran said, pointing to upcoming DC releases including James Watkins’ “Clayface” this October and Gunn’s “Man of Tomorrow,” due in July 2027.
Gillespie, speaking with CBR ahead of the film’s release, confirmed that Gunn personally pushed for “Supergirl” to include a darker, “Man of Steel”-style confrontation between Kara and the film’s villain, Krem of the Yellow Hills, played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Gillespie said the moment was part of the script from the start and credited Gunn’s insistence on keeping it. “[T]hat he doubled down on that, I loved,” Gillespie said.
“Supergirl” follows Kara Zor-El as she teams up with a young companion, played by Eve Ridley, on a revenge mission, with Jason Momoa appearing as Lobo and David Corenswet making a cameo as Superman. The film is based on the “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” comic series by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. It is now playing in theaters, with its performance over the July 4 holiday likely to determine how close it gets to nine figures domestically.
