DC’s Supergirl CRASHES as Pixar’s Toy Story 5 continues UNSTOPPABLE global run

The DC superhero film Supergirl opens to a disappointing $68 million worldwide, while Pixar’s Toy Story 5 dominates with $585 million globally after just two weeks in theatres.

In a disappointing start for Warner Bros.’ revamped DC movie operations, Supergirl failed to make an impact at the box office, opening a distant second to Pixar’s Toy Story 5. The highly anticipated superhero film simply couldn’t compete with the family-friendly animated blockbuster that dominated the weekend. Toy Story 5 remained No. 1 at the North American box office with USD 70 million in domestic ticket sales and another USD 89.1 million overseas, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The Walt Disney Co. release has, in two weeks, quickly amassed USD 585 million globally, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. The film is also expected to wind up as the biggest entry in the 31-year-old franchise, surpassing Toy Story 4’s USD 1.07 billion record.

Supergirl crashes at the box office

Supergirl, however, failed to lift off. It opened with USD 38 million in U.S. and Canadian theatres and added USD 30 million in overseas markets. With this, the film scored an estimated worldwide debut of USD 68 million. The film cost an estimated USD 170 million to make.

Craig Gillespie’s superhero spinoff is the second big-screen release from James Gunn and Peter Safran, who were tapped to lead DC Studios in late 2022. Their first release, 2025’s Superman, grossed USD 618 million worldwide, a strong-enough start for the duo. Gunn, who serves as a producer on Supergirl, handed directing duties to Gillespie, the filmmaker of I, Tonya and Cruella.

Supergirl flops with both critics and viewers

But the Millie Alcock-led film flopped with both critics and moviegoers. Reportedly trimmed significantly after test screenings, Gillespie’s film landed poor reviews (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a “B-” CinemaScore from audiences. In the film, she stars as Supergirl, or Lara Zor-El, a younger cousin to
Superman who’s more of a party girl than a world saver.

Supergirl trails below The Flash and The Green Lantern

The poor opening weekend for Supergirl puts it behind the disappointing debuts of DC busts like The Flash (USD 55 million in 2023) and The Green Lantern (USD 53 million in 2011), and only barely ahead of Joker: Folie a Deux (USD 37.7 million in 2024).

Why do superhero films no more drives box offices?

Superhero movies no longer drive box office success like they once did. David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe, noted superhero movies no longer drive the box office like they did pre-pandemic. There are fewer yearly releases, and the box office in the genre is down approximately USD 3.5 billion annually from its highs in 2017-2019.

After huge successes like Wonder Woman (USD 822 million in 2017) and Captain Marvel (USD 1.13 billion in 2019), female-fronted superhero movies have also taken a downturn.

The next DC release is Clayface, a body horror take on the DC character, to be released in October. Gunn’s Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow, is currently in production. It’s dated for July 2027.