‘Supergirl’ isn’t just a $124 million DCU flop — it officially has an earlier digital release than ‘Blue Beetle’
There is plenty of evidence that Warner Bros. and DC’s ‘Supergirl’ has struggled mightily. From poor box office numbers to divided critical reviews, Supergirl isn’t having a good summer.
The latest blow to James Gunn’s version of the DCU comes as the Milly Alcock-led movie is set to hit digital release just over a month after it was on the big screens. It’s one of the fastest turnarounds for a DC movie from theater to digital since 2020.
Supergirl is in the top 10 of shortest DC movie digital release dates, though not every film on the list pivoted to digital because of underperformance at the box office.
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- Shazam! Fury of the Gods
- Joker: Folie à Deux
- Supergirl
- Black Adam
- The Flash
- Aquaman & the Lost Kingdom
- Blue Beetle
- The Batman
- Birds of Prey
With a 32-day theatrical window, Supergirl claims third behind two sequels: ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ and ‘Joker: Folie à Deux.‘ The Shazam sequel released on March 17, 2023, and was on VOD by April 7, 2023. As far as I can tell, that’s the shortest theatrical window for a theatrical-exclusive modern DC movie ever at 21 days.
That includes number 10 on the list, ‘Birds of Prey’, which debuted in February of 2020 but had an accelerated digital release thanks to the pandemic and the lockdowns that began in March of that year; it still had a 46-day window by comparison though.
However, like Folie à Deux and Fury of the Gods, Supergirl’s pivot appears directly related to poor box office performance.
The movie was reportedly produced for $170 million, with a sizable $120 million marketing spend (per Variety). As of July 28, the movie has only earned back just over $124 million globally, according to The Numbers.
A confused DCU
Beyond culture warrior crap, Supergirl arrived at a weird time as James Gunn attempts to turn the DCU into Warner Bros.’ own version of the floundering Marvel Cinematic Universe. Floundering might be the only thing it’s gotten right.
As my colleague Rory Mellon points out, it’s not that the movie is bad but that it may have been the wrong DC hero to focus on immediately after the success of David Corenswet’s ‘Superman.’
Unlike Marvel and its tightly connected series that all seemingly take place in the same universe, ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ aside, DC’s properties are all over the map.
Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman,’ the upcoming Batman 2 and ‘Clayface’ are leaning into more of a grim and horrific vibe. Meanwhile, Supergirl felt like a toned-down ‘Peacemaker’ while the better-received Superman leaned more into the heart of what makes the mythological character popular.
It feels more experimental, which is vastly more interesting than whatever Marvel is currently doing, but the tone is all over the map, which means it may be harder for people to step into the universe.
James Gunn is taking risks, but as the word implies, the coin doesn’t always land on the side you want.
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