Supergirl Box Office Hits New DC Low & It’s Worrying For James Gunn’s DCU
Supergirl‘s box office is far from what DC would have wanted, and the film’s new low for the comic book giant might mean some alarms should be sounded. The DCU Chapter One had its first few projects announced in January 2023. Since then, the franchise has shifted, with projects that were originally on DC’s slate of releases being put on the back burner.
Parallel to that, Gunn has also moved forward with movies and TV shows that were originally not part of the slate revealed for the DCU, such as Clayface, which comes out on October 23, and the Jimmy Olsen Superman spinoff series for HBO Max, which should start filming shortly. That said, Supergirl was always part of the plan for the DCU.
The movie had huge potential, as it was set to adapt Tom King’s universally beloved Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comics. However, Supergirl did not fly as high as DC had hoped, with the film sitting at a disappointing 53% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and just a decent 74% audience score. That has translated into a poor box office run.
Before he was Clark Kent, Superman was born Kal-El on a distant planet doomed to destruction. His parents Jor-El and Lara placed him in a rocket ship as an infant, sending him across the cosmos to Earth. What is the name of Superman’s home planet?
✓ Correct! Krypton was a scientifically advanced planet that exploded due to its unstable core. Jor-El, Superman’s father, was the only scientist who foresaw the catastrophe and managed to save his son by launching him toward Earth in a small spacecraft.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Krypton. Thanagar is Hawkman’s homeworld, Apokolips is Darkseid’s domain, and Oa is the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps. Krypton’s destruction is the defining event of Superman’s origin story.
02
Superman’s greatest love is a fearless, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who works alongside Clark Kent at the Daily Planet. She’s known for her relentless pursuit of the truth and for being one of the few people who sees both the hero and the man. Who is she?
✓ Correct! Lois Lane has been Superman’s primary love interest since her debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938. A brilliant investigative reporter, she’s as iconic as Superman himself — tough, smart, and unafraid to chase the biggest stories in Metropolis.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Lois Lane. Diana Prince is Wonder Woman, Lana Lang is Clark’s high school sweetheart from Smallville, and Cat Grant is a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet. Lois Lane is Superman’s iconic partner.
03
Despite being nearly invulnerable under Earth’s yellow sun, Superman has one famous weakness — a radioactive mineral from the remnants of his destroyed homeworld. Exposure to it drains his powers and can even kill him. What is this substance called?
✓ Correct! Kryptonite is the irradiated remnants of planet Krypton. Green Kryptonite is the most common and deadly variety, but there are many other types — Red Kryptonite causes unpredictable behavior, Gold Kryptonite can permanently strip his powers, and Blue Kryptonite affects Bizarro.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Kryptonite. Vibranium is from Marvel’s Black Panther universe, Nth Metal is tied to Hawkman, and Red Sun Ore isn’t a real DC substance. Kryptonite is the iconic green-glowing mineral that is Superman’s ultimate weakness.
04
In 1978, a then-unknown actor donned the cape and made the world believe a man could fly. His portrayal of Superman became the gold standard for superhero films and he starred in four Superman movies. Who is this legendary actor?
✓ Correct! Christopher Reeve’s portrayal in Superman: The Movie (1978) is widely regarded as the definitive live-action Superman. His performance perfectly balanced the heroic confidence of Superman with the endearing clumsiness of Clark Kent, setting the template every Superman actor has followed since.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Christopher Reeve. Henry Cavill played Superman in the DCEU starting with Man of Steel (2013), Brandon Routh starred in Superman Returns (2006), and Tom Welling played young Clark in TV’s Smallville. Reeve was the original big-screen Superman.
05
Superman’s greatest enemy isn’t a superpowered alien — he’s a brilliant, ruthless human billionaire who believes Superman is a threat to humanity’s potential. This bald-headed genius has been Superman’s archenemy for over 80 years. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Lex Luthor is the ultimate foil to Superman — where Superman represents hope and selflessness, Luthor represents ambition and ego. Despite having no superpowers, his genius-level intellect and vast resources make him Superman’s most persistent and dangerous adversary.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Lex Luthor. Brainiac is an alien android who collects cities, Darkseid is the god-like ruler of Apokolips, and Doomsday is the monster who famously killed Superman. But Lex Luthor is the definitive archenemy — Superman’s dark mirror.
06
After crash-landing on Earth as a baby, Kal-El was found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, a kind farming couple. They raised him with strong moral values in a small rural town. Where did Clark Kent grow up?
✓ Correct! Smallville, Kansas is the quintessential American small town where Jonathan and Martha Kent raised Clark with heartland values of honesty, compassion, and humility. It’s the foundation of who Superman is — not the powers from Krypton, but the character instilled by his Kansas parents.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is Smallville, Kansas. Gotham is Batman’s city, Metropolis is where Clark moves as an adult to work at the Daily Planet, and Coast City is Green Lantern’s home. Smallville is where the Kents raised Clark on their farm.
07
As Clark Kent, Superman disguises himself as a mild-mannered reporter working at Metropolis’s most famous newspaper, alongside Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen. Their editor-in-chief Perry White runs the newsroom. What is the name of this newspaper?
✓ Correct! The Daily Planet, with its iconic globe on the rooftop, is one of the most recognizable fictional newspapers in pop culture. Working there gives Clark Kent both a cover identity and a way to stay informed about threats to the city and the world.
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is the Daily Planet. The Daily Bugle is Spider-Man’s Marvel universe newspaper, the Metropolis Star and Gotham Gazette are lesser DC publications. The Daily Planet — with its spinning globe — is Superman’s journalistic home.
08
This Kryptonian military commander was banished to the Phantom Zone for treason before Krypton’s destruction. He escaped and came to Earth seeking vengeance, famously demanding that others “Kneel before” him. His iconic portrayal by Terence Stamp cemented him in pop culture. Who is this villain?
✓ Correct! General Zod is one of Superman’s most terrifying foes because he has all of Superman’s powers but none of his morality. Terence Stamp’s portrayal in Superman II (1980) made “Kneel before Zod” one of the most quoted villain lines in film history. Michael Shannon later reimagined the role in Man of Steel (2013).
✗ Not faster than a speeding bullet on that one! The answer is General Zod. Bizarro is a flawed clone of Superman, Parasite drains powers through touch, and Metallo is a cyborg with a Kryptonite heart. General Zod is the Kryptonian military leader whose cry of “Kneel before Zod!” echoes through decades of Superman stories.
Mission Complete Your Kryptonian Record
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Are you the Man of Steel — or still stuck in a phone booth?
The second movie in Gunn’s DCU has amassed only $120.9 million worldwide at the time of writing. Supergirl has yet to pass notorious superhero box office bombs like the $167.5 million Morbius. However, it faces a hard path ahead to do so, as the movie just hit a new low for the DC franchise, and it should be a cause for concern at DC Studios.
Supergirl Just Had The Worst Box Office Week 4 For DC Shared Universes
Supergirl just had a dark 4th weekend in theaters, with the DCU movie landing at a domestic 3-day of only $1.52 million. As such, Milly Alcock’s Supergirl movie now holds the negative record of the worst 4th weekend for a DCEU or DCU movie. Given how the latter has only released James Gunn’s Superman in addition to Supergirl, with that movie earning $13.7 million in week 4, the biggest comparisons come from the old DCEU movie franchise. That shared universe’s worst performer in that timeframe was Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which was released in the DCEU’s final year, with $1.6 million.
Supergirl almost matched its total. The DCU’s second movie also stands below releases like Ezra Miller’s The Flash, at $2.3 million, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman 1984, at $2.1 million, Blue Beetle, $3.8 million, and the rest of the DCEU. That is a symptom of a larger box office problem. Supergirl had a reported budget of $170 million, which means the film needed to finish between $340 million and $425 million to break even. Supergirl will not be able to get close to the lower end of that projection, as it has shown no box office legs. DC needs to fix that.
James Gunn’s DCU Might Need To Sound The Alarm
Milly Alcock staring down Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem in Supergirl 2026
The DCEU was a divisive franchise for nearly all of its run, which culminated in all the four movies that were released in the shared universe’s final year underperforming at the box office. Everyone favored Gunn’s new DCU because it was supposed to be better than what came before and closer to the comics. However, Supergirl puts that into dispute. The DCU movie had one of DC’s best comic book stories ever featuring Supergirl as the basis for its story, and it failed to show the same kind of staying power that Gunn’s Superman had in 2025.
The DCU having its second movie break all-time negative DC records, such as the lowest week 4 in DCEU and DCU history, was not the expected result, and with major characters that can attract viewers to theaters like Batman and Wonder Woman still having no set dates to make their DCU debuts, the franchise’s future continues to be in flux. Supergirl’s box office performance is not the end of the DCU, but it should sound an alarm, as a pivot to fan-favorite characters with proven box office power might be what is needed right now.
Release Date
June 26, 2026
Runtime
108 minutes
Director
Craig Gillespie
Writers
Ana Nogueira
Producers
James Gunn, Lars P. Winther, Nigel Gostelow, Peter Safran
