‘Supergirl’ Becomes DC’s Biggest Box Office Disaster in Over 20 Years

A year ago, DC Studios seemed to have finally found its stride. ‘Superman’ kicked off James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted universe with strong reviews and a worldwide gross that surpassed the $600 million mark, giving Warner Bros. Discovery solid reasons to believe in its ambitious ten-year plan for the franchise.

That confidence transitioned directly into ‘Supergirl,’ the highly anticipated sequel featuring ‘House of the Dragon’ breakout Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El. The film hit theaters this summer after a lengthy promotional campaign, complete with appearances from David Corenswet’s Superman and Jason Momoa’s Lobo, and hopes that it could broaden the DCU’s audience beyond its flagship hero.

Unfortunately, those hopes have crumbled. ‘Supergirl’ is now confirmed as the lowest-grossing DC movie in twenty-two years, taking the title from 2004’s poorly received ‘Catwoman.’ Currently, the film is raking in less than a million dollars a day at the domestic box office and has only made $108 million globally since its release.

The financial outlook becomes even more dire when factoring in the budget. Warner Bros. and DC spent between $170 million and $200 million to produce ‘Supergirl,’ along with an additional $120 million to $125 million on marketing. This means the film would need to gross roughly $300 million worldwide just to break even.

There’s an interesting twist in the comparison to ‘Catwoman.’ While the Halle Berry film earned less in raw dollars back in 2004, around $82 million, that total adjusts to about $149 million when accounting for inflation. In real terms, this positions ‘Supergirl’ as potentially the weakest theatrical release in DC history.

‘Supergirl’ now ranks among the late-era stragglers of the DCEU, trailing behind ‘Blue Beetle’ and ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods,’ and it aligns more closely with Sony’s ‘Madame Web’ than with any modern DC success. This outcome is particularly striking for a film that was meant to capitalize on ‘Superman’s’ momentum rather than undermine it.

The contrast between the two DCU entries is stark. ‘Superman’ opened to strong reviews and ultimately earned $618 million globally, while ‘Supergirl’ has fallen significantly short of that benchmark despite a similar level of investment and promotion. DC Studios leadership has publicly framed this shortfall as a single disappointing chapter in a much larger franchise strategy, rather than a sign that the entire reboot is in jeopardy, although the numbers provide plenty of fuel for skeptics.

Reviews for ‘Supergirl’ were mixed rather than entirely negative, with much of the praise directed at Alcock, whose performance was often highlighted as the film’s strongest aspect, even by critics who found the script or effects lacking. This disconnect between a well-received lead performance and a poorly performing movie has sparked considerable debate this summer.

Attention now turns to what lies ahead for the DCU, with ‘Clayface’ set for an October release and Gunn’s own ‘Man of Tomorrow’ arriving next summer. Whether either film can shake off the shadow of ‘Supergirl’s’ historic underperformance may reveal much about the stability of the franchise’s foundation.

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