From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

Marvel boss Kevin Feige once said back in 2017 at a Guardians of the
Galaxy Vol. 2 presser that when it came to the studioAs embrace of
deeper character comic book stories like Black Panther and Ant-Man, oThe biggest risk was not [in] doing them. The biggest risk would have been
doing Iron Man 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.o

As such, the revived DC Studios under Guardians of the Galaxy franchise filmmaker James Gunn and Conjuring franchise producer Peter Safran has
plans to do exactly that: Not to gavage moviegoers on a diet of
Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, but rather build secondary DC
characters into diamond properties.

So they took a swing on Tom King and Bilquis EvelyAs visceral and edgy
graphic novel Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which fans consider a True Grit-type story in the Krypton sub-verse. It has cost Gunn and SafranAs
DC dearly; industry sources are estimating a $125 million loss after a
$68M worldwide and $37M domestic opening and all first-cycle downstream ancillaries. Warner Bros sources have told us that breakeven for the
Craig Gillespie-directed space opera resides in the $315M global range
after a reported $170M-$186M net production cost and $120M global P&A
(that doesnAt include the DC-record $100M promotional partner campaign).

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was a sophisticated story about SupermanAs
cousin, Kara Zor-El, coming out of her drunken stupor to avenge the
murders of a young girlAs family at the hands of the notorious villain
Krem. Clearly the IP was a significant one-up from 1980s Superman
producer Alexander SalkindAs spinoff Supergirl, which Warner Bros passed
on releasing in 1984 (and TriStar took over) following the tanking of
the Richard Pryor-starring Superman III. The earlier Supergirl,
headlined by Helen Slater, deep-sixed at the box office with just over
$14M domestic per Box Office Mojo.

In the hands of Gillespie u whose specialty is edgy female-empowerment
tales like the Oscar-winning I, Tonya and Cruella as well as the
Emmy-winning Hulu series Pam & Tommy u how could the new Supergirl go
wrong?


Unlike Marvel Studios, which has ODAed on Disney+ streaming series and
rapidly pumped out secondary character pics, Gunn and Safran made a
point to be strict about development, and to never go into production on
a half-written screenplay. That said, IAm told the Supergirl adaptation
by Hightown actress Ana Nogueira was beloved internally, and considered
ready to go.

Coming away from testing, DC knew there were hurdles ahead. The response
to Supergirl was ogood, not great,o and that just doesnAt fly with any superhero movie today. Tracking services told Deadline as summer kicked
off that Supergirl, along with Amazon MGM StudiosA bomb Masters of the
Universe and Universal/AmblinAs Disclosure Day, were key event films
that were extremely lukewarm in their word of mouth. The ho-hum on
Supergirl was further exacerbated by the response to the first trailer
and the takeaway from CinemaCon (the bus battle scene wasnAt entirely
embraced when shown in the room).

Social media movie analytics firm RelishMix reported before the picAs
opening, oMixed-negative leaning chatter for Supergirl centers on
concerns that the film feels overly James Gunn-coded, with recurring
criticism aimed at the humor, characterization, and perceived
Guardians-style DNA. Skeptics argue Kara comes across less like
Supergirl and more like a cosmic antihero, while others question the
trailerAs tone, vocal performance, and reliance on familiar visual
beats. Comparisons to Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy, the 1984 Supergirl, and even recent Superman adaptations are used as measuring
sticks rather than compliments. The sharpest critiques suggest audience
fatigue with GunnAs stylistic fingerprints and concern that the
character has drifted from her traditional identity. Remarks include
aThis looks like Guardians of the Galaxy as a one woman showA and aMore
campy, comedic fake-looking CGI.A Additional examples include, aThis
movie has failure written all over itA and aLooks worse than the one
from the 80s.'o

Overalll social media reach on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X and
Instagram for Supergirl was small at 639M, compared to the 953.8M racked
up by Superman, Thor: Love & Thunderas 963.2M and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaas 732M.

oWhen things get negative on a superhero property, they go negative
quickly in a meteoric way,o one industry analyst told us, citing
examples of The Flash (which was dogged by tabloid reports about its
star Ezra Miller before opening); The Marvels; as well as Joker: Folie a
Deux, a Stephen Sondheim-like musical no fan wanted.

Critics and fanboy media thrashed Supergirl not just for its Guardians
of the Galaxy touchstones, but also for aping Mad Max. How dare
Supergirl save enslaved women in the galaxy like Mad Max and Furiosa!
Following the misfire of LionsgateAs Ballerina last summer ($140.2M WW)
and Furiosa the summer before ($174.3M WW), these female-led action pics
and superhero properties come up against immense male toxicity, with
some critics picking on Supergirl headliner Milly Alcockas physique.
Captain Marvel, given that it was a bridge to Avengers: Endgame in March
2019, was able to withstand such nastiness with a $1.1 billion gross;
its 2023 successor The Marvels however could not ($206.1M). Also
invincible was 2017As Wonder Woman at $823.7M WW.

HereAs why: There had never been a feature film made about Wonder Woman,
a beloved and very popular DC character, which immediately drew women
over 25 (32%), with women under 25 not too far behind (23%). Also, there
was the fresh allure of Gal Gadot as an Amazon. Critics embraced the
big-screen take on Diana of Themyscira at 93% certified fresh while
throwing tomatoes in Supergirlas face at 54% Rotten.

Supergirl was an attempt by the new DC to deliver a movie for the
under-25 audience, much like Wonder Woman with older females. However, Supergirl is dark stuff: Her parents die at the beginning of the film
and her dog is on the brink of death. You wanna know what young women
want, look no further than Amazon PrimeAs lineup of sudsy series Off
Campus and The Summer I Turned Pretty, which Supergirl is not. Supergirl
wound up only pulling in a low 15% women under 25. Overall definite
recommend on Screen Engine and RentrakAs Postmark audience exits was
52%, versus Superman at 74%.

But if $37M-$74.3M (the high range being last summerAs Thunderbolts*) is
the new opening domestic-weekend range for deeper comic book characters,
why not just make these risky deep universe movies cheaper? Again, donAt
spend $120M-plus on a production that canAt pull in more than three
demos. On the flip side, you canAt underspend on VFX, take a flier on a galaxy-hopping space opera and in the end underserve fans.

Some like to think that Supergirl being wedged between the success of
Toy Story 5 and the upcoming Minions & Monsters amid the noise of the
World Cup is a recipe for failure. Nah. Other PG-13 live-action fan
properties have been booked in the July 4 corridor and worked before,
i.e., last yearAs Jurassic World: Rebirth. Plus, we arenAt even in the
thick of World Cup semifinals yet.

When it comes to making a superhero movie leap off a building nowadays
with a single bound, one studio insider asserts, oGood, not great
doesnAt cut it. You canAt get away with it. The fans will have their
knives out for you.o

https://deadline.com/2026/06/supergirl-bomb-boxoffice-1236970324/
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