Supergirl debut – Milly Alcock’s Supergirl opened to mixed early signals at the box office—about $38 million domestically and around $70 million worldwide this weekend—far below the $125 million domestic and $220 million worldwide debut of Superman.
Supergirl hit theaters with Krypton-sized expectations and Krypton-sized doubt.
This weekend. the movie’s box-office start came in around $38 million domestically and around $70 million worldwide—numbers that land far behind the debut of Superman. which brought in $125 million domestically and $220 million worldwide. The gap is especially stark because the DC Universe itself was launched as a new era led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. and Supergirl is now being measured against how quickly that audience trust can be won back.
For a franchise that has already been shaped by mixed responses, the opening reads like a stumble. The DC Extended Universe ran from 2013 to 2023 before Gunn’s series was set in motion. and Superman grossed a little less than $620 million worldwide in 2025—still lower than the haul of Man of Steel. which launched the DCEU in 2013.
The opening weekend also landed behind two of the DCEU’s most visible disappointments—and that matters because those titles were already flagged for struggling to convert attention into turnout. The Flash grossed $55 million in its domestic debut a couple of years ago. and The Marvels made around $46 million; both movies cost more than $250 million to produce. Supergirl’s budget, however, is said to be in the $180 million range.
Directed by Craig Gillespie, Supergirl stars Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El. The film also features Jason Momoa and Matthias Schoenaerts, with David Corenswet appearing as Superman. Beyond the money, early reception hasn’t offered much relief. On the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Supergirl holds a 56% score. and the consensus reads: “Milly Alcock brings a swagger to Kara Zor-El that’d make Krypton proud in this otherwise familiar origin story. dawning a promising new hero in the DCU who’s still waiting for an adventure that matches her vigor.” Audiences gave the movie a disappointing B grade. according to CinemaScore.
There’s a reason those grades weigh heavier when the stakes are this high. Movies with lower grades on CinemaScore tend to peter off rapidly at the box office.
The studio isn’t pausing, though. The DCU is set to continue with next year’s Man of Tomorrow, which will also feature Corenswet and Alcock, along with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
Supergirl’s challenge now is simple to state and hard to solve: it has to reverse the early drop-off quickly—before the numbers harden into a pattern.
Supergirl Milly Alcock Kara Zor-El James Gunn Peter Safran Superman Craig Gillespie Jason Momoa Matthias Schoenaerts David Corenswet Man of Tomorrow Nicholas Hoult The Flash The Marvels Rotten Tomatoes CinemaScore