SUPERGIRL's Box Office Stumbles Hard as Opening Weekend Falls Below MORBIUS and Even SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY Pre-Sales

Just a year ago, it looked like DC Studios had finally found solid ground. Superman launched the new DC Universe with a huge win, becoming the highest-grossing superhero movie of the year and giving fans plenty of confidence that James Gunnand Peter Safran's reboot was headed in the right direction.

Unfortunately, that momentum has hit a pretty ugly speed bump. Supergirlhas officially landed in theaters, and its opening weekend has turned into one of the biggest disappointments of the summer movie season.

While nobody expected it to go toe-to-toe with Toy Story 5, there was plenty of optimism that the film could pull in more than $50 million during its domestic debut. Instead, it missed even the most conservative projections.

According to Deadline, Supergirl opened with approximately $38 million domestically, which is even lower than the $40 million estimate that surfaced the previous day. That's a rough result for a movie carrying a reported production budget between $170 million and $186 million.

The comparisons make things even tougher to ignore. The film actually opened below Marvel's much-publicized disappointments The Marvels, which debuted with $46.1 million, and Morbius, which opened with $39 million. That's not exactly the company Warner Bros. was hoping to keep.

Then there's the statistic that really makes you do a double take. Spider-Man: Brand New Day doesn't even hit theaters for another month, yet the movie has already generated more than $40 million domestically through advance ticket sales alone.

That's right. A film audiences haven't even seen yet has already earned more money than Supergirl managed during its entire opening weekend. No matter where you land on the movie itself, that's an incredibly difficult number to explain away.

The disappointing debut also raises some bigger questions about what comes next for DC Studios. Warner Bros. clearly believed in the project enough to give it a prime summer release date, and while expectations weren't sky-high, the hope was that audiences would show up in enough numbers to make it a healthy hit.

Instead, the movie now appears headed toward becoming a financial loss. The good news is that this probably won't derail Milly Alcock's future as Kara Zor-El.

Before the film opened, DC Studios had already confirmed that the character plays an important role in the franchise moving forward. Alcock is set to return next summer in Man of Tomorrow, and DC Studios co-head Peter Safran previously said, "she’s a major part of what we’re doing."

Even viewers who have been mixed on Supergirl have generally agreed that Alcock delivers one of the film's strongest performances, and it would be unfortunate if audiences didn't get to see her continue developing the character with stronger stories down the road.

Since Man of Tomorrow is already deep into production, her role there is almost certainly locked in. The bigger concern is what this means for DC's long-term strategy.

At this point, the franchise doesn't appear to be in any real danger. Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Season 2 have all been well received, so Supergirl could simply end up being an unfortunate bump in the road instead of a sign that the entire DC Universe is in trouble.

Still, executives are almost certainly looking closely at what audiences are actually willing to buy tickets for. Gunn previously acknowledged that he "probably [isn’t] going to do certain movies" about "characters [audiences] don’t know."

That's an interesting comment coming from the filmmaker who helped transform the Guardians of the Galaxy into one of Marvel's biggest brands, but it's also a reflection of where superhero movies currently stand. The landscape has changed.

Looking ahead, it's hard not to notice that the only DC films currently dated are Man of Tomorrow starring Superman and The Batman: Part II. Those are the company's two safest bets, and after Supergirl's performance, it wouldn't be surprising if Warner Bros. leaned even harder into its biggest icons.

Years ago, characters like Aquaman could headline billion-dollar franchises or successful solo adventures because audiences were eager to see almost every new superhero movie that arrived. That simply isn't the case anymore.

Fans have become much more selective, and both Marvel and DC are going to have to adapt if they want to keep these cinematic universes thriving.

Supergirl's opening weekend feels like another reminder that recognizable characters, strong word of mouth, and genuine audience excitement matter now more than ever.