Supergirl's U.S. Box Office Debut May Be As Low As Marvel Studios' Biggest Flop, The Marvels

Supergirl's U.S. Box Office Debut May Be As Low As Marvel Studios' Biggest Flop, The Marvels

Very early box office projections for DC Studios' Supergirl have just landed, and if the DCU movie opens on the lower end, then it could make as little as The Marvels did in 2023.

By JoshWilding - May 23, 2026 09:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Supergirl
Source: Box Office Theory

Supergirl swoops into theaters next month, and all eyes are now on whether the Woman of Tomorrow can continue DC Studios' momentum after Superman grossed over $624 million worldwide last year (making it 2025's highest-grossing superhero movie).

Thanks to the DCEU, "DC" remains a tarnished brand, and James Gunn and Peter Safran knew from the start that changing the perception would be a tough challenge. Supergirl is part of the "Superman Saga," with Milly Alock reprising her Superman role in this solo outing ahead of a supporting turn in next summer's Man of Tomorrow

With a little over a month to go, it's hard to deny that Warner Bros. has failed to build the same "must-see event" vibe it created for Superman last July. Supergirl also arrives at a bad time, landing in theaters a week after Toy Story 5, five days before Minions & Monsters, and two weeks before the live-action Moana remake.

According to Box Office Theory, current projections suggest Supergirl will open between $47 million and $65 million in North America. If it comes in on the lower end, then that's the same as The Marvels in 2023. Despite positive reviews, it finished its run with $206.1 million. On the higher end, it's closer to Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, which grossed $370 million and $449 million, respectively. 

Supergirl could be a modest success for DC Studios or one of the summer's biggest flops. It's far too soon to say, though we'll have more specific tracking soon, as tickets are expected to go on sale next week.

Female-led superhero movies have often struggled at the box office, perhaps explaining why Superman is suddenly front and centre in promos for Supergirl

Early buzz surrounding the DCU title has been mixed, with the trailers drawing a largely negative response due to similarities to Guardians of the Galaxy and a washed-out colour palette that doesn't quite do the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic book justice. Recent comments from Milly Alcock have also upset some fans, while Jason Momoa's DCU debut as Lobo isn't proving to be the home run some expected.

Supergirl, DC Studios' newest feature film to hit the big screen, arrives in theaters worldwide next summer from Warner Bros. Pictures, and stars Milly Alcock in the dual role of Supergirl/Kara Zor-El. Craig Gillespie directs the film from a screenplay by Ana Nogueira.

When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice. Alcock stars alongside Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, and Jason Momoa.

The film is executive produced by Nigel Gostelow, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars P. Winther. Behind the camera, Gillespie is joined by director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer Neil Lamont, editor Tatiana S. Riegel, costume designer Anna B. Sheppard, Visual Effects Supervisor Geoffrey Baumann, and composer Ramin Djawadi Junkie XL Claudia Sarne.

Supergirl arrives in theaters on June 26, 2026.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.
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LeBronStan
LeBronStan - 5/23/2026, 9:19 AM
I just don't know what to think of this movie. the marketing doesn't make me feel about it one way or another. It's based on a great comic, but it looks like they took all the personality out of it.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 5/23/2026, 9:31 AM
@LeBronStan - same here.
It looks stale in color and seriously lacking in excitement.

That's disappointing.
OneMoreTime
OneMoreTime - 5/23/2026, 9:36 AM
@LeBronStan - When Movie Studios stop advertising for movies. Know incoming Flop is Coming.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 5/23/2026, 10:24 AM
@LeBronStan - leave it to Josh to paint a broad stroke with this article. The Marvels budget was over 300 MILLION. 360 if you don't count the tax cuts. That's double the [frick]ing budget. So even if Supergirl made the same amount (it'll make way more) it'd be a higher profit point. Context matters, that's why I'm here lol
spr0cks
spr0cks - 5/23/2026, 10:40 AM
@bobevanz -

You mean "context matters" in the same way you neglected to note that The Marvels was released during Covid (or just the immediate aftermath when people still weren't going to theaters) and Supergirl is not being released during any pandemic or post-pandemic?

That's why you're here indeed...


....'lol'
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 5/23/2026, 11:45 AM
@spr0cks - lolz, what a stretch. MoM was released earlier and did good at the BO. I am not even mentioning NWH which was way earlier than MoM.
PS118
PS118 - 5/23/2026, 1:16 PM
@spr0cks -

Marvels wasn’t effected by Covid. The movie just flopped as I said a year before it came out that it would.
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 5/23/2026, 1:48 PM
@spr0cks - Plus the strike.

Won't pretend to know how much or little of an effect that would have, but it was another point of context then that doesn't exist currently.
dragon316
dragon316 - 5/23/2026, 2:46 PM
@LeBronStan - I hate book crappy villain and marketing have nothing to do with movie success dragonball super hero’s had no marketing and became number one movie in theater
jst5
jst5 - 5/23/2026, 2:56 PM
@LeBronStan - It looks like another DCU Gunn movie but this time with the girl version of Supes.
spr0cks
spr0cks - 5/23/2026, 6:31 PM
@PS118 - You don't know for a fact that it wasn't affected.

In fact, I can say......for a FACT,.....that it was indeed affected because movie-going writ-large and audience attendance was affected and people did stop going at the numbers they were going before.


This isn't an opinion. This is a FACT that's backed up by empirical numbers.

And at the end of the day, if your OPINION is that it flopped just because regardless of what was going on back then (Whether it was covid or it was a bad movie or a combination of both (it's been one of Disney's best performing Disney+ movies on streaming.....sooo...),...
Then what's Supergirl's excuse that the best they can hope for is to match a movie that you claim flopped, when itself is not being released during a post-pandemic period?

And don't give me the "it had a smaller production budget" bullcrap.
It has the same production budget as Project Hail Mary, which is essentially a box office hit and an early awards contender.
HatutZeraze2
HatutZeraze2 - 5/23/2026, 10:32 PM
@EskimoJ -

Haters always ignore how the actor's strike made it impossible for the cast of The Marvels to promote the film months before its release. Lack of such promotion impacted the film's box office.

Other films were similarly impacted by the strike.
regmovieguy
regmovieguy - 5/23/2026, 11:20 PM
@spr0cks

“You don't know for a fact that it wasn't affected.

In fact, I can say......for a FACT,.....that it was indeed affected because movie-going writ-large and audience attendance was affected and people did stop going at the numbers they were going before”

The Batman, Multiverse of Madness, No Way Home all came out prior to The Marvels release and all of them did really great numbers, lol. No Way Home broke records.
satanicbatman
satanicbatman - 5/23/2026, 9:19 AM
“This movie may be bad, or possibly good, but if it’s as bad as another bad movie, it will make less money.”

- Josh Wilding: President of the Amateur Comic Book Film Critic Club
theFUZZ008
theFUZZ008 - 5/23/2026, 9:21 AM
@satanicbatman - Hahahaha. It’s unreal.
SummersEssex
SummersEssex - 5/23/2026, 9:21 AM
@satanicbatman - lol
regmovieguy
regmovieguy - 5/23/2026, 9:23 AM
“Despite positive reviews -“

The Marvels had a 63% on RT and a 50 on MetaCritic.
Gabimaru
Gabimaru - 5/23/2026, 9:52 AM
@regmovieguy - josh s@£&#ng disney for his rent.
JonBenke
JonBenke - 5/23/2026, 9:59 AM
@regmovieguy - he’s an idiot, but it’s not like hr said “despite overwhelming positive reviews” — 63% is still more positive than negative.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 5/23/2026, 10:26 AM
@regmovieguy - he meant his positive review lol
SuperiorHeckler
SuperiorHeckler - 5/23/2026, 10:28 AM
@regmovieguy - "THE MARVELS is a movie that appears to have split opinions, and while it's not perfect, we think you'll find plenty to love in this fun romp of a blockbuster that highlights three of the MCU's best HERoes." -Josh 'Make-Mine-Marvel' Wilding from 2023 😝
NoName6315
NoName6315 - 5/23/2026, 12:24 PM
@JonBenke - The Flash has 62%. Willing to bet he wouldn’t refer to Flash as having “overwhelming positive reviews”.
HatutZeraze2
HatutZeraze2 - 5/23/2026, 10:14 PM
@regmovieguy -

Reviews don't matter if people REALLY want to see a comic book film. The Blade Trilogy and Venom Trilogy were loathed by critics, but those films were box office hits.

Conversely, Thunderbolts was hailed as the best reviewed MCU film since 2021. It was also the lowest grossing comic book film of 2025. The film's box office was even lower than MCU films panned by critics: Eternals, Ant-Man 3, and Captain America 4.
HatutZeraze2
HatutZeraze2 - 5/23/2026, 10:18 PM
@NoName6315 -

The Flash was really hurt by Ezra Miller's bad reputation and rampant criminal activity. Warner Bros. and Hollywood giving him a pass made things worse.
OneMoreTime
OneMoreTime - 5/23/2026, 9:23 AM
User Comment Image
HelloBoysImBack
HelloBoysImBack - 5/23/2026, 9:25 AM
It's literally not doing anything different from other cbms especially guardians
TantricBoogie
TantricBoogie - 5/23/2026, 9:26 AM
She's interesting in the face., And bod. Think she'll FLY with the hormonal youth???
Lokiwasright
Lokiwasright - 5/23/2026, 10:21 AM
@Biggums - if they like crood girls
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 5/23/2026, 9:29 AM
Well ...

That sucks.
LeBronStan
LeBronStan - 5/23/2026, 9:38 AM
on a side note, I still have no idea why Captain Marvel 2 wasn't Secret Invasion 🤦🏿‍♂️
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 5/23/2026, 10:06 AM
@LeBronStan - DEFINITELY a missed opportunity. Secret invasion could’ve been amazing.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 5/23/2026, 10:51 AM
@LeBronStan - all of these tv shows were movie scripts. They didn't have an app before covid and Hulu was an after thought
SenorTwats
SenorTwats - 5/23/2026, 9:40 AM
Im not fan of the DCU but the marketing has been terrible for this thus far so im not surprised! WB or Dc studios need to pull their finger out.
OneMoreTime
OneMoreTime - 5/23/2026, 9:45 AM
Said this before Superman has NEVER been a Big Box Office Draw. Never got close to 1 Billion at the Box Office.

Superman isn't Popular you think he is.

User Comment Image
Se4M4NSt4ine
Se4M4NSt4ine - 5/23/2026, 10:02 AM
@OneMoreTime - it’s not that he isn’t popular, trust me he’s very popular. When you see kids in the African plains with little to no water and running about with a superman T-shirt pretending to fly, it reminds you just how big these characters are.

The problem with Superman, is he’s just not relatable to modern audiences. Reeves Superman worked so well because he was introduced in an age where America needed hope. Donner said it himself. Gunn tried to make him relatable and human, but surprise surprise people complained. He’s a hard character to crack on screen.

I actually think Supergirl is an easier character to bring to life because she’s written intentionally with flaws.
WruceBayne
WruceBayne - 5/23/2026, 10:13 AM
@Se4M4NSt4ine - AGREED! Gunn tried to make him relatable but you just can’t with the character. People’s complaint was “Superman kept getting his @$$ beat”, the only person in the movie that beat him was his clone, his physical equal. And the clone was being controlled by a WHOLE team of individuals who had vastly better combat prowess than a “farm boy from Kansas”.
OneMoreTime
OneMoreTime - 5/23/2026, 10:22 AM
@Se4M4NSt4ine - James Gunn needs to make a Comic Accurate Aquaman and Wonder-Woman both were Huge Box Office hits.

User Comment Image
spr0cks
spr0cks - 5/23/2026, 10:57 AM
@Se4M4NSt4ine -

RE : >>>>"When you see kids in the African plains with little to no water and running about with a superman T-shirt pretending to fly, it reminds you just how big these characters are"


African kids in the Savannah with little to no water are running around with "Utah Jazz - 1997 NBA World Champions*" T-shirts and caps.

Most of them even wouldn't be able to point out to you on a map where Utah is, ....or what that has to do with "Jazz"........or what "Jazz" is...at all,.... for that matter.

The point is, I wouldn't put stock in reading the fashion choices of starving children in third world countries as being implicative of the popularity of a particular product or brand that was lumped onto them.

But that's just me.

*what else did you think happens to those t-shrts and merch made for the team that eventually loses the final game of the NBA/NHL/Superbowl?

What I find particularly funny is the notion that you think these African kids.....starved for clean drinking water and presumbaly food......
....are going to take the few shillings or pennies they can scrounge.....and take those savings to the nearest DC merch store......probably several ......hundreds of miles or kilometers away from where they live - and order a "Superman" t-shirt because they love him so much as a character. Or better yet, find an internet cafe(if they have one close by)....and somehow order it from the Amazon DC merch portal.
Who cares about food or clean water.....or medicine or the necessity?

"I can't get enough money for a decent square meal - let alone three - but I'm rocking a Superman t-shirt because he's the bestest superhero in the world!!!"

LOL!

No, but seriously, Superman's popularity had traditionally largely been predicated on the whole "Americana" "Eff YEAH!! AMERICAH!!!!" Rah-Rah aspect of the character while the American brand and American pop-culture was still popular in places far and wide.

I don't know if you noticed or realized it yet, but the American brand is hot dogshit these days.
Se4M4NSt4ine
Se4M4NSt4ine - 5/23/2026, 5:51 PM
@spr0cks - User Comment Image
HatutZeraze2
HatutZeraze2 - 5/23/2026, 10:23 PM
@OneMoreTime -

Taking inflation into account, Superman (1978) starring Christoper Reeve was a $1 billion hit.

But your right that Superman doesn't rack up multiple $1 billions hits like Spider-Man and Batman.
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