Supergirl has officially ended its theatrical run, and the box office results… aren’t great. With a worldwide total of just $125.8 million, Supergirl‘s number falls well under other notorious comic-book movie bombs, like Morbius ($167.5 million) and Joker: Folie à Deux ($208 million).
Supergirl did receive better reviews than either of those movies, but decent reviews don’t keep an expensive franchise going if the money isn’t there to back it up.
The writing was on the wall when Supergirl hit theaters with a disappointing $38 million domestic opening. But, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran issued a statement to The New York Times addressing the performance, saying, “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.“
Superman also wasn’t a box office juggernaut, but it made the equivalent of Supergirl‘s entire box office run in its opening weekend, going on to gross $618.7 million worldwide.
Still, I’d imagine DC must be looking at Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which grossed over $1 billion in less than a week, and think, “Why not us?”
Next up will be Clayface, but it won’t have nearly as much pressure to perform, as its budget is significantly lower than Superman or Supergirl at just $40 million. Clayface will hit theaters on October 23.
Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is based on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the comic series written by Tom King and illustrated by Bilquis Evely. After her father is murdered and the one responsible is still out there, a young alien girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll seeks out Supergirl to help her on a vicious mission. She wants revenge, and if Supergirl doesn’t help her, she’ll do it herself, whatever the cost.
Supergirl stars Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon) as Kara Zor-El, alongside Eve Ridley (3 Body Problem) as Ruthye, Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone) as Krem of the Yellow Hill, David Krumholtz (Oppenheimer) as Zor-El, Emily Beecham (1899) as Alura, and Jason Momoa as Lobo, a role he has longed to play for years.
In his review, our own Chris Bumbray said that although Alcock is great in the role, the movie she’s starring in is disappointingly generic. You can check out the rest of his review right here, as well as a slightly more optimistic second opinion from Tyler Nichols.
Supergirl will be released on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 8.