Supergirl flops at box office, undermining DC reboot hopes

Supergirl opened to an estimated $38 million domestically and about $68 million worldwide, a weak start for DC Studios’ rebooted universe and a far smaller launch than the studio needed from its second theatrical release. The film, directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, reached North American theaters on June 26 after beginning its international rollout on June 24.

The gap with James Gunn’s Superman was hard to miss. Superman opened to about $122 million domestically and $217 million globally in July 2025, giving DC Studios a strong first step for Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. Supergirl did not come close to that pace, landing as a distant second at the box office and underlining how little room remains for error when Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to rebuild a superhero brand in public view.

The movie’s weak performance also drew attention back to the film itself. The final cut ran 1 hour and 47 minutes including credits, after an earlier reported version ran 2 hours and 5 minutes without credits, suggesting roughly 25 minutes were removed in the closing stretch of editing. Reporting around the release also pointed to multiple test screenings and several alternate endings, signs that the studio was still adjusting tone and structure late in the process. That kind of revision can sometimes sharpen a movie; in this case, the box office suggests it did not create the clear audience pull DC needed.

Critical reaction was also harsh. One review called Supergirl a “dull, dispiriting, fake-feminist movie,” a line that captured the film’s broader problem far better than any studio promise could. The result matters beyond one weekend because Supergirl was supposed to help prove that the rebooted DC Universe could deliver consistent theatrical hits after Superman.

DC Studios co-chief executive Peter Safran said the film did not meet box office expectations, even as he said he remained confident in the studio’s long-term DCU strategy. That confidence now comes with a thinner margin for misfires, and Supergirl has quickly become a stress test for whether the new DC chapter can survive another expensive stumble.