Supergirl flops with $68M global debut against $186M budget

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Supergirl suffered a crash landing in theaters with a $68 million opening weekend at the global box office.The new DCU film scooped up just $38 million domestically and about $30 million internationally. It's a split that puts the Milly Alcock superhero movie below expectations, which had Warner Bros. and DC Studios hoping to pull in $50 million across 3,600 North American theaters in its first weekend.Those early projections already set a low bar for the Supergirl movie despite its position as a highly anticipated follow-up to 2025's Superman. Adding insult to injury is the film's budget, which, according to Deadline, is between $170 million and $186 million, before marketing costs. A disappointing start means the project faces a long road before it can even think about breaking even as the DCU works through what seems to be its first letdown in theaters.Poor performance at the box office could be a result of the film's reception. Critics and fans alike aren't quite sure how to feel about Supergirl, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes showing a 56% score for the latter while the former carries a higher rating of 77%. Most opening weekend reactions say Alcock's Kara Zor-El and the movie's use of practical effects are worthy of praise, while others struggled to connect with the overall story. Hideo Kojima, at least, seemed to like it.IGN gave Supergirl a 6/10 review ahead of its June 26 premiere. We said, Supergirl borrows from the best, but Milly Alcock’s great take on Kara Zor-El gets lost in the spare parts from other movies used to assemble her story. The breakdown landed the Kryptonian icon in the number two spot at the box office, falling in second to Disney's Toy Story 5. The long-running Pixar franchise maintained its top spot with a $70 million domestic haul in its second weekend. That's a 56% drop from its mid-June premiere, with its domestic and worldwide totals now sitting at $297.2 million and $585 million, respectively.Other domestic highlights from the weekend include yet another strong weekend for Obsession, which came comfortably in third with $9.8 million after more than a month and a half in theaters, bringing its worldwide total to an unbelievable $370.109 million. Jackass: Best and Last, which also released June 26, accumulated $8.4 million across its 2,885 North American theaters and landed in fourth. Disclosure Day came in fifth with $8.1 million after its third weekend.For more on Supergirl, you can read our exploration of the debate at the heart of the film. You can also see how director Craig Gillespie said the song used in its final act came together.Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).