DC's Supergirl Movie May Not Fly Very High At The Box Office
by Ryan Scott · /FilmThe summer movie season is heating up, and the first big comic book movie of 2026 is nearly upon us. That honor belongs to "Supergirl," which hails from Warner Bros. and DC Studios and features Milly Alcock ("House of the Dragon") as Kara Zor-El, aka Superman's cousin. She had a brief cameo in James Gunn's "Superman" last year, but now, it's time for her to take center stage. Unfortunately, it looks like this DC Comics adaptation won't fly all that high at the box office.
As of this writing, "Supergirl" is eyeing an opening in the $47 to $60 million range when it arrives next weekend, per Box Office Theory. That is, admittedly, on the lower side of things for a superhero movie. That could put it in line with "Shazam!" ($53.5 million opening/$366 million worldwide). That seems favorable on paper until we take the film's reported $175 million budget into account, which doesn't factor in marketing costs.
For context, Gunn's "Superman" opened to $125 million in theaters last summer en route to $618 million worldwide. That was still less than "Man of Steel" ($668 million), which kicked off the messy DC cinematic universe that was the DC Extended Universe. But times have changed, and superhero movies are no longer surefire bets at the global box office. (Even Marvel Studios has been struggling of late.) As a result, it appears "Supergirl" will be fighting an uphill battle.
The movie is directed by Craig Gillespie ("Dumb Money") and picks up after an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes close to home, leaving Kara Zor-El (Alcock) to reluctantly join forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice. Former "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa also joins the new DC Universe as Lobo, a beloved antihero/villain from DC's comics.
Supergirl is going to need a lot of help to become a hit
Part of the problem is that superhero movies have been struggling at the international box office lately. Hollywood can no longer depend on China, various wars are impacting countries across the globe, and the pandemic era has greatly reshaped the global, theatrical marketplace. In the pre-pandemic days, a movie like "Ant-Man" could open to $57 million domestically but wind up with nearly $520 million worldwide thanks to an outsized overseas turnout. That's not usually the case anymore.
"Supergirl" is more likely to follow a similar path to "Superman," which made about 57% of its money in North America. Taking that into account, and judging by the current opening weekend projections, this movie is going to need a lot of help to become a hit. Specifically, it's going to need damn good reviews and stellar word-of-mouth from audiences, especially if the movie falls on the lower end of projections.
Indeed, a $47 million debut would be comparable to that of "The Marvels," which opened to $46 million and finished with just $206 million worldwide, becoming the lowest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe movie ever. Then there's the box office disaster that was 2023's "The Flash," which bowed to $55 million and fizzled out with less than $275 million worldwide. Basically, if audiences take a wait-to-stream approach to the latest entry in the DCU, especially if buzz is soft, things could get bad in a hurry.
Competition won't help matters. "Supergirl" will open against "Jackass: Best and Last," which shouldn't be a big issue. But "Minions & Monsters," "Evil Dead Burn," and the live-action "Moana" are just around the corner. Then comes Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey." It's going to be tough sledding.
"Supergirl" reaches theaters on June 26, 2026.