DC Studios’ Supergirl flew into theaters this past weekend, and the Girl of Steel was quickly grounded at the box office. Despite a budget of $170 million, the film only made $68 million globally. And with just middling reviews, it’s doubtful that the film will grow much beyond this. Like the original 1984 Supergirl, this looks to be another financial flop. And given that it’s DC Studios’ second film after last year’s well-received Superman, fans are wondering if this marks the end of the new DC Studios already. But DC Studios’ co-head, Peter Safran, is not so doom-and-gloomy. Here’s what he told the New York Times, via Deadline:
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.
Now, as co-head of the studio, he has to try to put a positive spin on things. But fans of James Gunn’s DCU shouldn’t start freaking out just yet. Don’t forget, the second MCU film after Iron Man was The Incredible Hulk, which was also a big disappointment. And that all worked out. Although, in fairness, it opened much better than Supergirl did. But we doubt Warner Bros. is going to fire Gunn and Safran after just one flop. Especially one that had such a tough uphill battle to fight as Supergirl did. Many things were stacked against it from the word go, and Supergirl just didn’t have the strength to fight back.
For starters, the character was barely in last year’s Superman. Milly Alcock’s appearance was just a few seconds. So audiences did not become endeared to her, because we didn’t really know Kara yet. Second, it opened a mere week after the box office juggernaut that is Toy Story 5, which was still cleaning up in theaters. Also, there’s the perception that Supergirl (like The Flash) is a TV property, after running on the CW for several seasons. Yes, it’s a different actress in the role, but to the general audience, it’s just another TV show becoming a movie. Even the Star Wars label couldn’t help The Mandalorian and Grogu from that perception.
And there’s also the elephant in the room, the organized hate campaign online from misogynist “fans” toward the film since day one. The same hate campaign organized against The Marvels, She-Hulk, even the well-reviewed Furiosa. There is just a segment of the male fandom who want to make sure female heroes never get the spotlight. Or if they do, they must have a certain cookie cutter look. It’s gross, but it sadly remains a factor. Although how big a factor is debatable. In the same New York Times interview, Safran said he believed “culture had grown,” claiming shock at the ferocity against Milly Alcock from certain men online. Clearly, he is not someone who has spent much time on social media in the past few years.
Milly Alcock will appear as Supergirl again, in next year’s Man of Tomorrow. And she’s probably under contract for more movies after that. So the character isn’t vanishing, or killed off, such as the last time a Supergirl film bombed. But sadly, don’t expect any more big-budget tentpoles from DC Studios based on B-list or C-list characters. This applies to Marvel Studios as well. The days of studios giving out big-budget movies to every superhero are behind us. From DC, expect the “Big Guns” only; Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League (eventually). The rest will probably be relegated to streaming series and animation. And maybe, that’s ok.