‘Supergirl’ Preview Numbers Put It Dangerously Close to DC’s Worst Box Office Performers

The early box office picture for ‘Supergirl‘ is not what Warner Bros. or DC Studios had in mind heading into opening weekend. As flagged by The Hollywood Handle, the film’s domestic preview earnings of $7.8 million place it in uncomfortable company when stacked against some of the franchise’s least celebrated outings.

Broken down, the domestic preview figure combines Wednesday fan events and Thursday showtimes that began at 3 p.m., landing above ‘Black Adam,’ which made $7.6 million in previews and opened to $67 million, and above ‘The Marvels,’ which pulled in $6.6 million in previews before its $46.1 million domestic launch, but fell short of ‘The Flash,’ which earned $9.7 million in previews ahead of its $55 million opening in 2023. The ranking does not make for comfortable reading.

Adding international markets, ‘Supergirl’ opened to a combined $13 million globally on its first day, against a reported production budget of $170 million, not including marketing and distribution costs. The film premiered in Brooklyn on June 22 and was released theatrically on June 26, with James Gunn and Peter Safran producing under DC Studios.

The critical reception has only added to the pressure. ‘Supergirl’ currently sits at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics alongside a 77% audience score, both well below the marks set by last year’s ‘Superman,’ which earned 83% from critics and 90% from audiences. The 77% audience score is still higher than recent DC entries ‘The Flash’ at 63%, ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ at 49%, and ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ at 31%.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is an adaptation of Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s acclaimed comics miniseries and stars Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El alongside Matthias Schoenaerts, Jason Momoa as Lobo, Eve Ridley, and David Corenswet reprising his role as Superman. Critics have been broadly positive about Alcock’s performance while splitting on the story around her.

Box Office Theory now projects the film’s entire domestic run could finish around $125 million, which happens to be the exact figure that ‘Superman’ earned in its opening weekend alone. That number underscores just how much daylight there is between the two entries in Gunn’s DC Universe after just one film.

The path to profitability is not impossible but requires a significant international boost. Warner Bros. insiders have indicated that anything above $300 million worldwide would be considered a win, with the studio banking on the international presence of Matthias Schoenaerts to help drive overseas numbers. With ‘Toy Story 5’ still projected to dominate its second weekend and a loaded July pipeline arriving shortly after, ‘Supergirl’ will not get much time to build the kind of legs that could salvage a soft opening.

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