“Supergirl” failed to take off at the box office this weekend.
Even though ticket sales overall were up 21% from the same time last year, DC Studios’ latest superhero reboot took in only $38 million at the domestic box office — 24% below prerelease projections of $50 million, The New York Times reported.
“Supergirl” — which cost $170 million to make — came in second place at the box office to “Toy Story 5,” which earned $70 million in its second week in theaters, per Variety. The “Toy Story” sequel is expected to be the most successful of the franchise, and is on track to be one of the year’s highest-grossing films.
What are critics saying about ‘Supergirl’?
Critics appeared largely unimpressed by DC’s latest effort, with the film rounding out to a rating of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some critics had high praise for the film’s star, Milly Alcock, even while panning the movie as a whole.
“Alcock is terrific in the role,” Associated Press critic Jake Coyle wrote. “If only ‘Supergirl’ was as good as she is.”
New York Times critic Manohla Dargis called “Supergirl” “derivative if altogether watchable, largely on account of its star.”
Some critics laid some of the blame for the film on a larger trend of “superhero fatigue.”
“Had we not been bombarded with a million superhero movies over the last 15 years, ‘Supergirl’ would be passably fine,” wrote New York Post critic Johnny Oleksinski. “Box office receipts have shown that the audience has reached a point where we selfishly would like these films to at least attempt to be special and unique.”
But not all of the reviews were negative.
Brian Truitt, USA Today’s film critic, gave “Supergirl” three out of four stars, writing, “Brandishing an offbeat sense of humor à la ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ... ‘Supergirl’ is an intergalactic revenge flick that boldly freshens up familiar tropes with the help of a jaded, self-destructive protagonist who needs to figure a whole lot of stuff out.”
What is DC Studios saying about ‘Supergirl’?
The reception of “Supergirl” isn’t exactly good news for DC Studios, which has been working to reboot many of its superheroes. Variety is calling the film “a major setback for the newly rebooted DC Universe.”
But DC is standing behind the film — and its long-term strategy.
“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,” Peter Safran, co-chairman and co-chief executive of DC Studios, told The New York Times.
“Supergirl” follows DC’s “Superman,” which was considered a success after its release last summer, taking in a total of $619 million in global ticket sales.
Why isn’t ‘Supergirl’ taking off?
Observers have seen multiple possible reasons for the film’s slow start, including so-called “superhero fatigue.” But another reason could be that Supergirl as a character doesn’t have the same draw as more well-known heroes like Superman.
“This was always going to be a tough hurdle for DC and Warner Bros. because Supergirl isn’t a character that has ever created an event-level blockbuster,” analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations told Variety. “Audience perception of ‘Supergirl’ was not good. This is just a case of the film wasn’t good enough to become an event.”
Others have noted that female-led superhero films in particular have struggled at the box office in recent years.
“Female-led superhero movies have been rejected almost uniformly over the past five years or so, perhaps reflecting a resurgent misogyny among the core fan base, which is largely male,” The New York Times wrote.
“Supergirl” and its star, Alcock, have both been subjects of “online abuse” since even before the film was released, the Times noted.