'Supergirl' disappoints at the box office in big setback for DC

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYSun, June 28, 2026 at 6:02 PM UTC

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DC's new universe of superhero movies has hit a snag.

"Supergirl," the DC film starring Milly Alcock as Superman's cousin, had an underwhelming opening weekend at the domestic box office, earning $38 million, according to studio estimates released by Rentrak on Sunday, June 28. This put it in second place behind "Toy Story5," which easily repeated at No. 1 in its second weekend with $70 million.

It was a disappointing result, given "Supergirl" had been expected to start with closer to $50 million domestically. That would have already been a big decline from the $125 million opening of 2025's "Superman," in which Alcock's Supergirl was introduced with a cameo appearance.

Compared to other recent DC movies, the "Supergirl" debut was below that of "The Flash" ($55 million) and roughly on par with "Joker: Folie à Deux" ($37 million), both of which were box office bombs.

It's a troubling sign for the DC Universe after the new shared world of superheroes arrived on the big screen on much stronger footing in 2025 with "Superman." The film, which introduced David Corenswet as Clark Kent and was directed by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, performed well in theaters, grossing more than $600 million worldwide.

The DC Universe was created to get the comic book movie franchise back on track and wipe the slate clean after a series of financial disappointments and years of the brand trailing its competitor Marvel in ticket sales. In 2023, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," "The Flash," "Blue Beetle" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," the final four DC films released before the franchise was rebooted as the DC Universe, were all box office disappointments.

Now, "Supergirl" is another setback, raising questions about whether the brand is in any better position after the DC Universe reset than it was before.

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The "Supergirl" performance also speaks to the fact that moviegoers may be growing more selective about which superhero movies to see in theaters and staying home for ones that aren't centered on a marquee character like Spider-Man, Superman or Deadpool. Even Marvel has run into this, with movies starring less popular heroes like "Thunderbolts*" failing to ignite the box office.

It certainly didn't help that reviews for "Supergirl" were mixed compared to the largely positive reception of "Superman."Moviegoers polled by CinemaScore gave "Supergirl" an average grade of B-, a weak score for a tentpole superhero movie. "Superman," in comparison, received an A-.

"Supergirl" centers on Alcock's title hero and her efforts to save her poisoned dog, Krypto, while teaming up with a young girl who is seeking revenge against a villain who killed her parents. David Corenswet also returns briefly as Superman.

Next up for the DC Universe movies will be "Clayface," a horror film about the titular Batman villain set for release in October. As a lower budget movie, it will carry with it a different set of box office expectations and won't need to be a blockbuster to be profitable.

But after that is "Man of Tomorrow," the sequel to "Superman" that brings back Corenswet as Clark Kent alongside Alcock, reprising her role of Supergirl. Set for release in July 2027, it will be a major test of whether "Supergirl" disappointing in theaters was a temporary stumble or whether DC could be in trouble.

If so, DC always has Batman to fall back on. "The Batman: Part II," a DC movie that exists in a separate continuity from the main DC Universe, is scheduled to finally hit theaters in October 2027 after years of delays. With Robert Pattinson returning as Bruce Wayne, it should be a safe hit for DC after the 2022 first movie collected nearly $800 million worldwide.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Supergirl' opening weekend box office is a DC disappointment

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”