Supergirl' Box Office Falls Short of Super as Disney Dominates Weekend

About a year after DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran kicked off their new DC Universe, the studio is returning to action in theaters with the release of Supergirl this weekend. Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, this film gives Milly Alcock her first leading credit as Kara Zor-El after making her DCU debut in a cameo appearance at the end of 2025’s Superman. The movie will be inspired by Tom King’s Woman of Tomorrow storyline from DC Comics, showing Kara on an intergalactic quest for vengeance after celebrating her 23rd birthday.

Early reviews for Supergirl have been wildly mixed ahead of its worldwide premiere, as it kicked off with a 62% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes in the days leading up to its debut. While Alcock has earned praise for her portrayal of the titular heroine, as has Jason Momoa for his dedication to the role of Lobo, many have complained about the clunky pacing, subpar CGI, and overly dark tone for Kara Zor-El’s solo story. As those issues become more widely spread online and through the fandom, it seems to already be impacting the box office results.

In its opening Thursday night (per Variety), DC Studios’ Supergirl grossed $7.8 million in previews at the domestic box office and $13 million globally. While the new DC movie is expected to gross between $47 million and $40 million over the weekend, it is also expected to fall short of Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5, which is going into its second weekend in theaters. The animated sequel is estimated to gross between $80 million and $90 million this weekend, coming after an impressive $312 million global opening ($160 million domestically) one week ago.

Toy Story 5 having a massive opening and second weekend is no surprise, considering the last two movies both grossed $1 billion worldwide in 2010 and 2019. Pixar’s flagship franchise has always been a huge moneymaker for the animation giant, and after Hoppers earned solid numbers earlier this year ($389 million worldwide), this classic franchise was expected to perform even better upon its return to theaters.

The big question moving forward for DC Studios will be whether Supergirl will have enough legs to become another hit for the DCU. The movie reportedly has a budget of close to $170 million, meaning it will likely have to gross between $315 million and $425 million to break even and be deemed a financial success. Considering Superman grossed almost $620 million just last year, there is a chance Supergirl could reach the numbers many are hoping for, but it will all depend on the legs it has over the rest of the summer.

Supergirl is now playing in theaters worldwide.