James Gunn was supposed to revamp and revitalize DC Studios at Warner Bros. The director of “Guardians of the Galaxy” would, in theory, bring the type of overarching creative vision that Kevin Feige had so successfully demonstrated at Marvel Studios.
Two movies into Gunn’s vision of DC Studios, it’s safe to say that this reboot has been an unmitigated failure.
The 2025 edition of “Superman” was, at best, a moderate success. While hardly the type of franchise-changing success the studio and Gunn hoped for, box office results and reviews were acceptable, if not a bit underwhelming. Thanks in some part to Gunn’s bewildering decision to tell audiences that the film was about politics, calling the Superman character an “immigrant.”
But the real test for Gunn’s reboot and the power of the DC Studios brand was the follow-up film, “Supergirl,” starring Milly Alcock. And boy has it failed the test.
Alcock spent most of the press campaign making herself as unlikeable as possible, insulting potential moviegoers, bizarrely claiming that audiences felt “ownership” of her body, then doubling down after the inevitable backlash. The trailers looked awful, with a predictably sloppy anti-hero feel, atrocious visual effects, and an uninteresting plot and villain.
Still, as recently as May, hopes were that “Supergirl” could make as much as $65 million in its opening weekend. In actuality? It made just over $37 million.
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With an estimated production budget of around $175 million, and a massive marketing campaign that likely cost Warner Bros. at least $100 million, the film needed to reach at least $450-500 million globally to break even. That opening weekend, and an anemic international debut, meant it was tracking towards a significant loss. The only hope? That positive word of mouth would overcome the apathy towards the film’s plot and the off-putting remarks from Alcock.
Well, we now have the second weekend box office data, and not only did word of mouth not help “Supergirl,” it may have destroyed it.
Friday grosses dropped an astonishing 80.4% from opening day on June 26 to just $3.6 million. Saturday estimates are for just $2.6 million, another 77% drop, despite the Independence Day holiday. All told, it’s a remarkable 74% drop from the first weekend to the second. Total domestic gross for “Supergirl” now sits at just $58.4 million. On a $275 million production, from a major studio, with a massive marketing campaign, and the creative backing of James Gunn.
If the third weekend has a similar fall, grosses would plummet to just $2.49 million. For an entire weekend. A film that needed to make $200 million+ at US theaters to break even may not even reach $80 million. And considering the woeful international numbers, it’s going to cost Warner Bros. hundreds of millions in losses.
For context, “Young Washington,” a patriotic film about George Washington’s early life and military service from Angel Studios, carried just a $20 million budget. It made an estimated $21 million in its first weekend, per tracking site The Numbers. Playing in just 2,700 theaters, that’s a $7,721 per theater average. “Supergirl?” Just $2,665. That’s what happens when your star insults moviegoers or goes off on tangents about the characters’s sexuality.
Unsurprisingly, “Young Washington” has received middling reviews from critics, but has an exceptional 92% positive audience score. With word of mouth that positive, could “Young Washington,” a little-known, barely marketed film with a low budget, outgross “Supergirl” at the domestic box office when all is said and done?
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If Hollywood had a shred of intelligence, awareness, and objectivity, it would realize the message they’re getting. Nobody wanted a “Supergirl” movie, particularly not the one they made. Women weren’t interested, as is typically the case with superhero films, and men were either put off by Alcock’s divisive comments, or apathetic after seeing the underwhelming trailers.
Meanwhile, “Young Washington” has been a tremendous success, because outside of the powerful progressive echo chamber in the entertainment industry, there is still an enormous appetite for stories about the United States, its founding, and prominent historical figures.
Lazy, uninteresting stories made by people who obviously despise their audiences is a recipe for disaster. That’s exactly what “Supergirl” is, a disaster. All while the polar opposite film is tracking towards being a massive financial success. Gunn started his tenure at DC off with an unforced error, then backed it up by losing his studio as much as $200 million on a vanity project. Between Star Wars and DC, it’s hard to believe that two massive franchises are in such dire straits. But that’s modern Hollywood for you.
