James Gunn’s DCU has been off to a rough start. After moving away from the DCEU, which was mostly influenced by Zack Snyder’s trilogy (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Justice League), Superman was meant to be a fresh start for the DC Universe under the watchful eye of CEO’s James Gunn and Peter Safran. But considering that Superman (2025) failed to reach the same heights as the first DCEU films, there were many who were already calling it a failure. So, Supergirl (2026) had a lot to prove. Unfortunately, after an awful launch at the box office this weekend, it could become one of the year’s biggest bombs.
Supergirl is only the second live-action film in the DCU, and it was meant to prove that the franchise could fly without the Man of Steel holding its hand. Instead, Milly Alcock’s big-screen debut as Kara Zor-El has opened to a disappointing $38 million domestically and around $68 million worldwide, losing the weekend to Toy Story 5 (which stayed at no.1 for another weekend). That’s really not a good start for a film reportedly carrying a $170 million production budget.
And, unfortunately, the argument that the box office isn’t what it used to be a few years ago doesn’t work anymore because films like A24’s Backrooms and Obsession have proved that audiences are still showing up to the movies, with those titles pulling in millions across the globe.
So, for a studio trying to rebuild trust after The Flash, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and years of brand confusion, this is exactly the kind of result Gunn and Safran could not afford this early.
And, honestly, knowing the past, Supergirl was always going to be a risk. Superman’s cousin doesn’t have a good track record at the box office. The 1984 Supergirl movie, starring Helen Slater, was supposed to ride on the strength of the Christopher Reeve Superman films and expand the franchise. Instead, it became one of DC’s most infamous failures, a movie that seemed to scare studios away from female-led DC films for decades.
Fortress of Solitude already warned that Milly Alcock was walking into a character with a complicated cinematic history. James Gunn and the filmmakers who worked on the project knew that history. Warner Bros. knew that history. And yet somehow, they decided that Supergirl was to become the second major theatrical pillar of the new DCU.
And the live-action failures are not because Supergirl is a bad character. Kara Zor-El is actually one of DC’s most interesting heroes. She has tragedy, rage, humour, cosmic scale and a completely different relationship with Earth than Clark Kent. But that is also the problem. She is a harder, stranger, more emotionally bruised character to sell to casual audiences than Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman – who are far more popular heroes.
James Gunn needed to lead the new DCU with certainty and guaranteed hits. Batman and Wonder Woman would have provided that. Before asking general audiences to care about Supergirl, Clayface, The Authority, Swamp Thing or Booster Gold, Gunn probably needed to lock in the Trinity first. Those are DC’s most popular characters after all. Everything else works better when those three chairs are occupied.
Marvel did not build the MCU by leading with Moon Knight and Echo. It started with Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and Hulk – the Avengers. Then the studio earned the right to go weirder – even though that has proven to be a hit or miss too. DC has spent more than a decade proving that audiences do not automatically follow the logo. They follow characters they understand, actors they recognise in the role, and stories that feel essential.
Supergirl feels optional – even its story doesn’t feel critical to the DCU story Gunn is currently telling. Audiences probably believe they can skip this one and go straight into Man of Tomorrow without missing anything. And they’re probably right. Superman felt like the beginning of something. Supergirl feels like a side quest off-planet.
The audience reaction did not help either. A B− CinemaScore is not toxic, but for a superhero movie that needs word of mouth, it is dangerous. It suggests the opening-night crowd — the people most likely to be excited — left the cinema divided. Add mixed critical reception and the usual online arguments about superhero fatigue, gender, politics and franchise direction, and suddenly the movie is facing an uphill battle.
Peter Safran has already tried to calm the waters, saying Supergirl did not meet box office expectations but remains part of a broader long-term DC Studios strategy. That is the public answer he has to give. Nobody expects a studio executive to come out after opening weekend and say, “Yes, we are panicking and preparing to rethink our entire strategy now.” But behind the scenes, this has to be the conversations they are having.
Because if Supergirl cannot launch strongly, then what happens when DC gets to even riskier projects? What happens to Clayface? What happens to The Authority? What happens when the DCU asks audiences to invest in characters they barely know while Batman and Wonder Woman are still mostly out of the picture?
That is why the timing of the new Batman rumours is so interesting.
Reports have started circulating that Tom Brittney, who previously said to have tested for Superman before David Corenswet landed the role, could be in line to play the DCU’s Batman. Nothing has been officially confirmed by James Gunn or DC Studios, so this should be treated carefully. But the rumor is all over social media in the last few days and it actually makes sense in one very obvious way: after Supergirl, DC may need Batman now more than ever. It’s the one character who works at the box office over and over again. It’s the less risky project too. You cannot sidebench Batman forever. That is not how you rebuild DC.
Supergirl’s box office collapse does not mean the DCU is dead. That would be dramatic, even for comic book Twitter. But it does mean Gunn needs to rethink his plans moving forward. The audience has sent a message: they are not showing up for the DCU just because it says “from DC Studios” on the poster.
Supergirl may still find defenders. It may even build a following later. Plenty of comic book movies have been bruised in cinemas and reappraised later. But the box office does not grade on future cult status. It grades on urgency. Right now, audiences did not feel Supergirl was urgent enough.
The new DCU was supposed to be a clean break from the confusion. But clearly it wasn’t.
Now James Gunn may have no choice but to bring Batman and Wonder Woman in much sooner than planned.
