This weekend we are seeing how live-action Moana fares against Evil Dead Burn, but two weeks ago, we were parsing the box office of Supergirl. It’s well-known that the movie underperformed, but as time has gone on, it is now making less than a million a day, and the final tally approaches. And right now, Supergirl is the worst-earning DC movie in 22 years since the infamous Halle Berry-starring Catwoman of 2004, widely regarded as one of the worst superhero movies ever made (an 8% Rotten Tomatoes score).
As it stands, Supergirl has made $108 million globally. It would need another $22 million to crawl up to even the terrible DCEU releases of the past few years, which is a stretch given its current trajectory. These numbers are stunning. Here’s a list of the DC films at the bottom of the list:
- The Flash (2023) – $271 million
- Green Lantern (2011) – $219 million
- Birds of Prey (2020) – $205 million
- Watchmen (2009) – $185 million
- Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) – $169 million
- The Suicide Squad (James Gunn) (2021) – $168 million
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) – $134 million
- Blue Beetle (2023) – $130 million
- Supergirl (2026) – $108 million
- Catwoman (2004) – $82 million
But even Catwoman, out all the way back in 2004, adjusted for inflation, that would be a $149 million total, thereabouts.
After that, we’re barely even getting into movies that count, like Superman III’s $80.2 million, but that’s not inflation-adjusted either from 1983. 2010’s Jonah Hex movie made $10.9 million. Shaq’s Steel made $1.8 million. If we are going to the Marvel side, Supergirl is more on par with the likes of Madame Web, which made $100 million for Sony. Even Morbius made $163 million. The worst-earning MCU movie ever, its biggest bomb, The Marvels, made $206 million.
The context here is even more important, however, Supergirl is not just one of the worst-earning superhero movies ever made; it’s doing so as the second step in the brand-new DCU, just trying to find its footing after Superman. That movie should have served as a decent lead-in, even introducing Kara at the end, but this is miles away from that film’s $618 million.
Does Supergirl deserve it? Is it really that bad? I’d certainly argue it isn’t. These figures we’re talking about are down near the bottom of the top 100 list of all Marvel and DC movies ever made, and there are dozens that are absolutely worse than Supergirl. But it’s a sign of the times that certain superheroes trying to break out in the present-day market are having a very, very tough time. That’s especially true on the DC side, as you can see that most of those terribly-earning DC films were right as the DCEU was expiring. Now, the DCU is heading to the pure horror film Clayface, and James Gunn’s Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, next year. It can’t go this badly, right? If anything else does, that’s big, big problems for this burgeoning universe.
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