Supergirl opened to just $38 million in theaters this past weekend, though that figure could decline when the final numbers are revealed later today. Current projections suggest the DC Studios movie will end its run with less than $200 million worldwide. That isn't good news for the DCU.
One box office flop won't derail an entire franchise. Then again, with Variety reporting that Supergirl needs $300 million to $375 million to break even, the still-very-young studio stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
All will be forgiven if Clayface and Man of Tomorrow are box office hits, but it's hard to shake the feeling that fans and critics alike have already forgotten the goodwill created by Superman last summer.
The New York Times caught up with DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran, who issued a brief statement on Supergirl's box office woes.
"While 'Supergirl' didn’t meet our box office expectations, it’s just one component of a broader, long-term strategy at DC Studios that we remain confident in," he told the site, likely hoping to reassure fans and Warner Bros. Discovery executives that the DCU franchise is still moving forward as planned.
Still, it's hard not to wonder how much DC Studios' confidence has been dented by the negative response, especially as James Gunn was clearly hands-on with production (he greenlit the divisive ending change and chose the widely derided final battle song). This rejection of Supergirl will also surely raise concerns about Man of Tomorrow, another Super-centric DC movie.
DC Studios may, however, have found a scapegoat. In the report, it's noted, "Warner Bros. executives said they were surprised by both the ferocity of the backlash and its reach, believing the culture had evolved past that sort of campaign."
Yes, it seems they're looking to blame "toxic" fans—specifically those who took aim at actress Milly Alcock—for this one. Despite that, the numbers suggest DC Studios missed the mark if it was hoping to make Supergirl an aspirational movie for young women.
As The Wrap explains, "59% of the audience was male and 65% was over the age of 25, which shows that the target audience for a 'Supergirl' movie — young women — simply didn’t show up."
Supergirl is set to have a lead role in Man of Tomorrow, and there have already been some strong hints that another project is lined up for the Woman of Tomorrow after that. Milly Alcock received widespread acclaim for her performance as Kara Zor-El, so the hope is likely that future DCU projects will redeem the character somewhat.
"Bad writing, gratuitous cameos, and uninspired visuals take us back to the bad old days of the DCEU in Supergirl, a showcase for the super-talented Milly Alcock, but Kryptonite to anyone who likes good superhero movies," we wrote in our review of the movie.
Supergirl is now playing in theaters.