Supergirl flopped at box office amid DC Studios and director Craig Gillespie's competing cuts

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Creative differences reportedly led James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Studios to test competing Supergirl cuts – one from director Craig Gillespie and one from the studio – just months before its release.

Behind-the-scenes details from the latest DCU movie suggest creative differences had the crew battling to choose a direction for Milly Alcock's standalone superhero debut, according to The Hollywood Reporter . Updates on the flick's development follow a week of negative reactions from fans hoping Supergirl would have taken flight before it bombed during its opening weekend at the box office .

The site says "numerous sources" reported creative differences between Gunn and Gillespie, specifically, with the film pulling test scores that struggled to break 70 out of a possible 100 points. While some said DC Studios and the director had a normal amount of friction during Supergirl, another said a polite way to describe the dissonance would be to say they were "not creatively aligned."

DC Studios had allegedly known Supergirl would face issues as early as fall of 2025, just a few months after filming finished that May. Gunn and Safran's DC film wing jumped in after a so-so screening aired in December 2025, with the studio then creating its own cut of the film with the aid of Mortal Kombat 2 and Moon Knight writer Jeremy Slater.

At least four test screenings aired throughout December 2025, February 2026, and March 2026. Although some winter screenings returned test scores in the low 70s, DC Studios called for two cuts to be made: one from Gillespie and one from the studio. The exact differences between the two are unclear, but as previously rumored, the director's is said to have been about 11 minutes longer and featured a greater emphasis on Matthias Schoenaerts' antagonist, Krem.

It was during the period that saw the two screenings test against one another that scores dropped. DC Studios' won out – but only by two points – and, ultimately, became the version of the film it chose to send to theaters in late June. One Hollywood Reporter source said that, after this point, if Gillespie had strong opinions on the movie, he would have to advocate for any changes.

"It happens more than you think, but it’s not normal," one anonymous filmmaker, who was not involved with Supergirl, said of the decision to test two competing cuts. "If a studio is going to put money into the test process, it means they feel strongly about certain things."

Another element that remained important for DC Studios and Gillespie to tackle during the post-production process involved something that has proven to be a hot topic since Supergirl premiered – its music. Fans have poked fun at the film's soundtrack in the days since its launch, with its use of a cover of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" during a late-movie moment being especially controversial .

Gillespie previously stated that Gunn is the one who made the call to include the song, and The Hollywood Reporter's sources agree. They added that a February screening included Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" during the moment instead. Gunn is said to have chosen this song, as well, before swapping it out for The Middle.

Supergirl put Alcock center stage when it premiered June 26. Despite only one week in theaters and presumably at least a few more to go, things aren't looking too hot for the DCU's new hero. A report from earlier this week suggested Warner Bros. and DC Studios could stand to lose more than $100 million from its time in theaters .

IGN gave Supergirl a 6/10 review . 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."

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).