It's a tough time at the box office as audiences hold out for big releases like Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Recent weeks have seen several films underperform, including Minions & Monsters and Supergirl. The live-action Moana remake also stumbled, with a domestic debut in the same range as last year's disastrous Snow White remake. It'll take a miracle for Moana to recover, while Minions & Monsters took 10 days to cross $100 million—a slow pace for the franchise.
But no film is struggling quite like Supergirl. The DC Universe's second installment dropped out of the domestic top 10 in just two weeks. After a $37 million opening weekend, it suffered a catastrophic 77% drop in its second frame, earning only $8 million. This past weekend, it added just $3.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $65 million. While it's close to surpassing Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga's $67 million lifetime haul, hitting $100 million seems impossible.
A Brutal Comparison to Green Lantern
Even the much-maligned DC Extended Universe never saw such lows. Blue Beetle grossed $72 million domestically with minimal publicity, and the ill-fated The Flash managed to scrape past $100 million. But one DC film from outside either universe—Ryan Reynolds' 2011 Green Lantern—has become an unexpected benchmark. Despite a terrible 25% score on Rotten Tomatoes, Green Lantern earned $115 million domestically and $237 million worldwide. That's nearly double Supergirl's current domestic total, even though Supergirl has a better 54% critics' score.
The comparison is especially painful for the newly launched DC Universe, which began with James Gunn's Superman reboot last year. The franchise was touted as a quality-driven alternative to the DCEU, but Supergirl's performance raises questions about its future. With Supergirl's digital debut set for July 28, the film may find a second life on streaming, but its theatrical run is a disappointment.
What Went Wrong?
Several factors contributed to Supergirl's box office struggles. The film faced stiff competition from other releases and a general audience wait-and-see attitude toward the new DC Universe. Additionally, the character's previous big-screen appearance in 1984's Supergirl (not part of this continuity) may have left a mixed legacy. The film's marketing also failed to generate the buzz needed to sustain interest beyond opening weekend.
For now, Supergirl joins the ranks of underperforming superhero films, but its comparison to Green Lantern is a stark reminder that even a critically panned movie can outperform a better-reviewed one if it captures audience attention. Whether the DC Universe can recover from this setback remains to be seen.
