Supergirl just lost to a “Christian dad” movie, and the irony is thick
Supergirl posted one of the worst superhero second-weekend drops ever, down roughly 74%, and got beaten by Young Washington, a faith-based biopic. Given star Milly Alcock’s viral “Christian dads” comments, the irony is hard to miss. Here’s the full story, and the real reason it flopped.
The Supergirl box office story keeps getting worse, and now, more ironic. Over the July 4th weekend, DC’s struggling film didn’t just collapse further, it got beaten by a low-budget, faith-based movie about George Washington.
And given what Supergirl star Milly Alcock said about “Christian dads” during the film’s promotion, the internet is having a field day with the symbolism. Here’s what actually happened, and the real reason behind the flop.
The collapse, by the numbers
Let’s start with the brutal second weekend.
Supergirl fell off a cliff. After a soft $37 million opening, the film dropped roughly 74% in its second weekend, plunging to around $8.5 million and tumbling to fourth place. That’s one of the steepest second-weekend declines in modern superhero movie history, landing it in the unwelcome company of bombs like The Marvels and Morbius.
Its domestic total now sits around $48 million, against a reported $170 million budget (plus another $75 million or so in marketing). Analysts project the film could lose $100-120 million in its theatrical run. By any measure, it’s a disaster.
The ironic part: it lost to “Young Washington”
Here’s the twist that has everyone talking.
The movie that helped push Supergirl down the charts was Young Washington, a faith-based historical drama from Angel Studios about a young George Washington. It opened to an estimated $18-21 million, more than double Supergirl‘s weekend haul, riding a wave of July 4th patriotism during the country’s 250th-anniversary celebration. It also earned a stellar A CinemaScore from audiences.
So a modestly-budgeted, faith-and-patriotism movie aimed squarely at heartland audiences, the kind of film often dismissed by Hollywood, comfortably out-grossed a $170 million DC superhero tentpole. On its own, that’s a great box-office underdog story. But the context makes it land even harder.
Why the irony stings: the “Christian dads” comments
Here’s the backstory fueling all the online commentary.
During the film’s promotion, Alcock drew significant backlash for comments in a Variety interview. Addressing online critics, she singled out anonymous accounts with bios like “Dad of four, Christian,” calling them “hilarious,” and added that “if you’re pissing the right kind of people off, you’re doing OK.”
The remarks were widely read as mocking a slice of the potential audience, and they became one of the most talked-about moments of the campaign. So when a wholesome, faith-based “dad movie” turned around and beat Supergirl at the box office weeks later, the symbolism was too perfect for the internet to ignore. The very demographic Alcock seemed to wave off showed up in force, for the other movie.
But here’s the honest part: the comments didn’t sink it
Here’s where we separate the funny symbolism from the actual cause.
As satisfying as the “Christian dads got revenge” narrative is for some, it’s not really why Supergirl flopped. The comments were a self-inflicted PR headache that certainly didn’t help, but the movie’s problems run much deeper, and they’re not about controversy.
The core issue is simpler and more boring: Supergirl is mid. The film reportedly tested poorly for eight months before release, never escaping the 60s in audience scores. It opened soft, then cratered because it gave audiences no urgent reason to show up. In 2026, with high ticket prices and streaming weeks away, a merely-okay movie doesn’t survive, no matter who its star did or didn’t annoy.
Plenty of controversial films become hits when they’re must-see; Supergirl simply wasn’t.
And Young Washington didn’t win because of a culture war. It won because it had an A CinemaScore, zero direct competition for its audience, and perfect timing for a patriotic holiday weekend.
Both results come down to the oldest rule in the business: give people a movie they actually want to see, and they’ll show up.
Supergirl’s box office flop: what it really means
Supergirl‘s roughly 74% second-weekend collapse, capped by losing to a faith-based George Washington movie, is a genuinely rough chapter for DC, and yes, given Alcock’s “Christian dads” comments, an undeniably ironic one. The symbolism is funny, and the internet is right to enjoy it.
But the real lesson isn’t about a culture war. It’s that Supergirl was a forgettable movie in a market that no longer rewards forgettable movies, while Young Washington was a crowd-pleaser that knew exactly who its audience was.
One gave people a reason to buy a ticket. The other didn’t. That’s the whole story, everything else is just a very ironic footnote.
Sometimes the box office isn’t sending a political message. It’s just telling you which movie people actually wanted to see.
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Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
Hat Tips:
Variety and Deadline (July 2026), verified for the box-office figures (the ~74% second-weekend drop, the ~$8.5 million weekend and fourth-place finish, the ~$48 million domestic total, the $170 million budget and projected $100-120 million loss, and the comparisons to other steep superhero drops), and for Young Washington’s ~$18-21 million opening and A CinemaScore
Variety and The Christian Post (May-July 2026), verified for Milly Alcock’s comments (the “Dad of four, Christian” characterization she called “hilarious,” the “pissing the right kind of people off” quote, and the earlier Vanity Fair “ownership of women’s bodies” remarks), and the widespread backlash they generated during the promotional campaign
Deadline and box-office tracking (July 2026), verified for the underlying causes (Supergirl’s poor test scores in the 60s over an eight-month period, the soft opening and lack of must-see urgency, the crowded July 4 family-film marketplace, and Young Washington’s patriotic counter-programming timing during the 250th-anniversary weekend)