Supergirl just became the lowest-grossing modern DC movie
Supergirl ended its run at $125.9 million worldwide, the lowest of any modern DC film and a reported loss of up to $200 million for Warner Bros. It’s the flop James Gunn dodged questions about on Warner’s earnings call.
Supergirl has finished its theatrical run as the lowest-grossing modern DC movie, capping a brutal summer for James Gunn’s rebooted franchise.
The Milly Alcock-led film ended with $125.9 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo, $72.1 million domestic and $53.8 million international, after opening to just $37.1 million in June. That’s the weakest global haul of any film in the modern DC Extended Universe or the current DC Universe.
For a movie reportedly built on a $170 million budget, the math is ugly.
How bad the numbers are
The losses are the part that turns a disappointment into a crisis.
Against a production budget of around $170 million, plus a marketing spend reportedly near $120 million, industry estimates put Warner Bros.’ potential loss as high as $200 million after theatrical revenue splits, though the studio hasn’t confirmed those figures. Exhibitors dumped the film quickly, and it posted the lowest fourth-weekend domestic take of any DCEU or DCU movie.
For comparison, Supergirl earned roughly what 2025’s Superman made in its opening weekend alone. The franchise had real momentum a year ago. This erased it.
One correction worth making
Some coverage has called Supergirl the “lowest-grossing DC movie ever.” That’s not quite right, and the distinction matters.
In raw dollars, several older DC films earned less: 2010’s Jonah Hex ($10.9 million), 1997’s Steel ($1.8 million), and 2004’s Catwoman ($82 million) all grossed below Supergirl. What’s accurate is that it’s the lowest-grossing modern DC film, and the lowest since Jonah Hex in 2010. Adjusted for inflation and budget, it’s arguably the worse result, but “ever” overstates it.
The James Gunn problem
This is the flop hanging over DC Studios, and its boss has been conspicuously quiet about it.
Supergirl is the second film in the DC Universe that Gunn and Peter Safran are building after 2025’s Superman. On Warner Bros. Discovery’s recent earnings call, CEO David Zaslav was asked directly about Supergirl and declined to address it, pivoting to unreleased movies instead and notably dropping the “10-year plan” language he’d used on prior calls. Gunn, for his part, hinted on social media that “it’s not the end of the world.”
Whether it is or isn’t, the pressure is real. Reports indicate Gunn took a more active hand in the edit after principal photography, so the result lands closer to him than a hands-off producer would like.
What it means for DC
One flop doesn’t sink an interconnected franchise, and it’s worth keeping that in perspective.
Superman was a genuine hit, and DC has Man of Tomorrow, Clayface, and the Lanterns series still coming. A single underperformer, even a $200 million one, isn’t fatal to a slate with real titles behind it. Gunn’s defenders are right that the plan is longer than one movie.
But the trajectory is the worry. Superman to Supergirl is a sharp drop, not a build, and it happens as Warner Bros. heads into a contested merger where the studio needs its slate to look healthy. Supergirl now sits in the record books as the modern low, and the next few DC releases will decide whether it was a stumble or the start of a slide.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Box Office Mojo via Yahoo/ComingSoon/SuperHeroHype (August 2026), verified for the $125.9 million worldwide total, the $72.1 million domestic and $53.8 million international splits, the $37.1 million opening, the June 26 release, and the lowest-modern-DC-film distinction
ScreenRant (July 2026), verified for the lowest fourth-weekend domestic take in DCEU/DCU history, the sophomore drop, and the third-week Top 5 plummet
GeekTyrant (August 2026), verified for the lowest-since-2010 framing, the Catwoman comparison, the ~$170 million budget, and the inflation-adjusted context
Variety (June 2026), verified for the projected $80-120 million theatrical loss range and the Warner Bros. write-down risk
Cosmic Book News (August 2026), verified for the 40-day theatrical run, the $125,901,095 exact figure per BoxOfficePro, and James Gunn’s “it’s not the end of the world” birthday post