Supergirl struggles – As “Supergirl” struggles after creative clashes behind the scenes, fans are turning back to Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel,” which has resurfaced on domestic iTunes charts and already sits at $670 million worldwide.
For a franchise built to move fast, “Supergirl” ended up stalling. The second installment of the DC Studios era—developed under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s franchise plans—has been met with shrugging reactions, and the story behind that struggle is as tangled as the one on screen.
It was reported last week that Gunn and director Craig Gillespie didn’t see eye to eye on “Supergirl’s” final cut. The result, in the eyes of many viewers, is a movie that doesn’t clearly land—one common complaint being that it’s too generic to stand out.
And then, something unexpected: audiences who aren’t buying “Supergirl” are rewatching what came before it.
According to FlixPatrol. Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” surged as one of the most popular titles on the domestic iTunes chart in the week of “Supergirl’s” release. Snyder’s film. released as the first installment of the DCEU. arrived with a different original mission statement: it was created in response to the record-breaking Marvel Cinematic Universe. with the early goal of director-driven movies that could stand on their own rather than relying on each other as foundational pieces.
That didn’t mean it pleased everyone. Snyder’s grounded take on Superman divided critics, and—according to the way the franchise evolved—each subsequent installment became a reaction to the last movie’s choices.
The money story is part of why that back-catalog momentum matters. “Man of Steel” grossed $670 million worldwide against a reported budget of $225 million, with Henry Cavill starring as Superman. When Gunn took over and orchestrated a new franchise meant to replace the DCEU. he decided the first installment would be a rebooted Superman movie directed by himself.
He thanked Cavill for his services and cast David Corenswet as a more hopeful Clark Kent. That newer Superman film, while better-received by critics, grossed under $620 million worldwide.
Even the critics’ scoreboard isn’t identical to the audience conversation. “Man of Steel” holds a 56% score on Rotten Tomatoes. “Supergirl” gets compared in part by how those audience instincts have shifted. while the newer movie holds a similar 54% score—but. in this domestic box-office window. it’s described as having virtually no chance of hitting the $100 million mark.
The sequence now feels hard to ignore: “Supergirl” stumbles after reported final-cut friction. and at the same time. Snyder’s divisive “Man of Steel” is pulling attention back into the spotlight—on charts. at theaters (in the broader franchise sense). and in the way viewers talk about what stands apart.
For now. the DC debate is already moving to what comes next: whether the new Superman push can find its footing quickly enough. or whether the audience’s pull is really pointing back to a different kind of Superman—one that was grounded. divisive. and clearly not forgotten. Release date. runtime. and credits remain fixed markers in that comparison: “Man of Steel” launched on June 14. 2013. ran for 143 minutes. and was directed by Zack Synder.
Supergirl James Gunn Peter Safran Craig Gillespie Zack Snyder Man of Steel Henry Cavill David Corenswet DC Studios iTunes chart FlixPatrol Rotten Tomatoes