This year, the summer box office has taken some unexpected twists and turns. While traditional studio tentpoles like The Mandalorian and Grogu and Masters of the Universe underwhelmed, indie horror movies became the talk of the town, as Obsession and Backrooms put together record-breaking runs. As we made our way through June, things seemed to revert back to “normal”; Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day outperformed its projections and Toy Story 5 scored the biggest opening of the year so far. People were curious to see if DC’s Supergirl could close out the month on a strong note, but instead, it’s struggled to make much of an impact.
Videos by ComicBook.com
It would have been unfair to expect Supergirl to match or surpass the performance of Superman ($125 million domestic opening; $618.7 million global total), which was the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2025. Still, with the DC Universe franchise off to a strong start after a string of well-received projects and excitement building for next year’s Man of Tomorrow (which will feature Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El), it would have been reasonable to assume that Supergirl would have been able to top The Flash in its opening weekend, but that didn’t happen. So, we’re taking a step back to identify the reasons why Supergirl had such a low debut.
1) Mixed Reviews
Superman was a big hit in part due to its word of mouth. The film earned positive reactions from critics and audiences who appreciated James Gunn’s light-hearted, optimistic approach to the titular hero. In contrast, Supergirl is more of a mixed bag. Its Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 57% is the DCU’s lowest to date by far, and while it has a stronger 76% audience rating, that mark is offset by a B- CinemaScore (the worst for any DC movie besides Joker: Folie à Deux). Superman had its fair share of detractors, but the overall consensus was very positive. Supergirl, on the other hand, has been divisive since the first wave of reactions came in.
This undoubtedly played a role in Supergirl‘s underwhelming box office performance. It was never considered to be a must-see cinematic event, which hurt its overall appeal. Franchise installments will always have die-hard fans who come out and support new releases no matter what, but in order to truly break out, general audiences need to hop aboard for the ride. The polarizing responses to Supergirl made it easier for those on the fence to skip it in theaters and wait for streaming. If the Supergirl reviews were more enthusiastic, then perhaps it would have generated the buzz it needed to be a major hit.
2) Competitive Release Date
After Superman impressed last summer, one can understand Warner Bros.’ decision to release Supergirl this summer, hoping to make it their big tentpole release of the season. On the surface, Supergirl looked like the ideal summer movie, sold to audiences as a pop-infused, entertaining intergalactic adventure anchored by an irreverent antihero fighting through hell and back to save her adorable dog. The comparisons to James Gunn’s blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy movies wrote themselves, but slotting Supergirl at the end of June ended up being a miscalculation.
Summer is known for being a busy time at the multiplex, so Supergirl was always going to be one big-budget genre picture in a long line of big-budget genre pictures, but it drew the short straw when it came to release dates. Sandwiching Supergirl between Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters (two installments in massively popular family-friendly franchises that could easily hit $1 billion) was not the best move. Hamstrung by the mixed reviews, Supergirl had a difficult time standing out. Toy Story 5, which earned far better reviews, is set to dominate the charts until Minions arrives, meaning Supergirl will fall further down once the calendar flips to July. Perhaps it might have fared better if it came out during a less competitive window like March (which is when the first Captain Marvel premiered) or April, when there aren’t as many high-profile genre films playing. The reviews would have stayed the same, but maybe more people would have been willing to take a chance.
3) End of the Superhero Movie Era?
In the 2010s, superhero movies were the dominant force in the film industry, but a convincing case can be made that things have changed a bit now. As Marvel can attest after a rough 2025, the latest comic book adaptation is no longer a guarantee to be a massive box office draw — even when it’s well-received like Thunderbolts*. As anime, video game movies, and horror took over the box office last year, we argued that the superhero movie bubble had burst, indicating that commercial trends had shifted. In some ways, Supergirl feels like a continuation of what was happening last year, demonstrating that comic book adaptations no longer have a strong hold on the box office.
Of course, there’s some nuance to this talking point. We aren’t stating that the superhero movie genre is dead; Spider-Man: Brand New Day is going to be the biggest hit of the summer, and Avengers: Doomsday will be a huge draw over the holiday season. What might be over, however, is the era where any superhero could become a global box office star simply by being the new superhero on the block. In the 2010s, Aquaman and Captain Marvel headlined $1 billion blockbusters. Now, there are reports that Marvel could stick to only premier brands like Spider-Man and the Avengers to maximize grosses. DC only has new Superman and Batman movies on deck for 2027. There will always be the major characters who are immune to changing box office trends, but the heroes in the tier below that will have a harder time standing out. Supergirl has been part of DC Comics since the 1950s, but she isn’t as widely popular as her cousin, and the box office numbers sadly reflect that. This’ll be something for DC to consider as it irons out its upcoming slate.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
More Movies
-
Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan
