Supergirl, the second film in James Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted DC Universe, opened in theaters on June 26 2026 to soft ticket sales and mixed reviews. Directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor El, the film pulled about $18 million on its opening day including previews and was tracking toward roughly $40 to $50 million across its first weekend. That is a fraction of what Superman did a year earlier, and it leaves the young DC Universe with an awkward second chapter.

What is Supergirl actually about?

It adapts Tom King and Bilquis Evely's acclaimed comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which takes Kara off Earth and across the galaxy. Gunn has described this version of Kara as harder edged than past portrayals, shaped by years spent watching her home planet die before she ever reached Earth. The plot follows her teaming up with a young alien girl named Ruthye on an interstellar quest for vengeance against a mercenary, Krem of the Yellow Hills, played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Jason Momoa shows up as the galactic bounty hunter Lobo, and David Corenswet reprises his role as Superman from the 2025 film.

The tone is a deliberate swing away from the Earthbound Superman, leaning into a cosmic road trip rather than a city saving spectacle. On paper that is a smart way to differentiate the two characters, and Alcock's casting drew genuine interest after her brief appearance in Superman.

Why are the box office numbers a problem?

Because the film carries a budget of around $170 million, and a soft open makes the path to profit steep. James Gunn disputed an early report of a $200 million production cost, and the figure settled closer to $170 million, but even that number sets a break even point estimated near $315 million worldwide once marketing is folded in. Opening to $18 million on a Friday and landing in second place behind the second weekend of Toy Story 5 is not the launch a film with that math needs.

Reviews did not provide much lift either. On Rotten Tomatoes 56 percent of critics graded it positive, and audiences handed it a B minus CinemaScore, a step below the A minus that Superman earned in 2025. Mixed word of mouth on a superhero film that already opened soft tends to mean a quick fall in the following weeks, which is the opposite of the long legs the budget requires.

How does this compare to Superman?

The contrast is unforgiving. Superman opened to $125 million in 2025 and went on to gross $618.7 million worldwide against a $225 million budget, a clear win that launched the new DC slate. Supergirl is opening at less than a third of that figure, against a smaller but still substantial budget, and it does not have the brand recognition that a Superman title carries automatically.

The silver lining for DC Studios is that Milly Alcock is not going anywhere regardless of the opening weekend. She is already slated to return as Kara in the upcoming Man of Tomorrow, so the studio is treating audience reception of her performance as more important than the opening gross. In that framing, a strong lead introduced in a film that underperforms is a survivable outcome, as long as the next several DC movies do not repeat the pattern.

Whether Supergirl finds a second life on streaming or fades fast, Milly Alcock's hard edged Kara is the clearest reason to give the film a look. Shop on Amazon