In blow to DC Studios, 'Supergirl' is no match for 'Toy Story 5' at box office

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Milly Alcock in a scene from "Supergirl." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

NEW YORK — In a setback for Warner Bros.′ revamped DC movie operations, “Supergirl” was absolutely no match for “Toy Story 5” at the box office, opening a distant second to the Pixar blockbuster.

After a near-record debut for an animated movie, “Toy Story 5” remained No. 1 at the box office with US$70 million in domestic ticket sales and another US$89.1 million overseas, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Walt Disney Co. release has in two weeks quickly amassed US$585 million globally, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.

“Supergirl,” however, failed to lift off. It opened with US$38 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters. It added US$30 million in overseas markets.

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 US$618 million worldwide, a strong-enough start for Gunn and Safran.

But “Supergirl” flopped with both critics and moviegoers. Reportedly trimmed significantly after test screenings, Gillespie’s film landed poor reviews (56 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a “B-” CinemaScore from audiences.

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

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 US$3.5 billion annually from its highs in 2017-2019.

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

“You’ll hear general explanations like ‘the audience lost interest.’ Yes, they did,” said Gross. “But no one has been able to explain why it happened so suddenly and so completely. Why female superheroes in particular, after their sensational starts? We don’t understand it either.”

The stumble for “Supergirl,” which cost US$170 million to make, comes as Warner Bros. Discovery, the film studio’s parent company, is preparing to be acquired by Paramount Skydance. David Ellison, Paramount chief executive, recently met with Gunn and Safran.

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.

Gunn, who serves as a producer on “Supergirl,” handed directing duties to Gillespie, the filmmaker of “I, Tonya” and “Cruella.” Milly Alcock, who briefly appeared in “Superman,” stars as Supergirl, or Lara Zor-El, a younger cousin to Superman who’s more of a party girl than a world saver.

Paramount Pictures’ “Jackass: Best and Last” was the weekend’s other new wide release. The latest stunt compilation from Johnny Knoxville and company opened with a modest US$8.4 million from 2,855 North American theaters. While that’s a good result for a movie that cost just US$10 million to make, the 2022 installment, “Jackass Forever,” debuted with US$23 million before ultimately grossing US$80 million worldwide.

Olivia Wilde’s dinner party comedy “The Invite” notched one of the best per-screen averages of the year. Opening on seven screens in New York and Los Angeles, it debuted with US$379,104, good for a per-screen average of US$54,158.

Wilde’s third film as director stars herself, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton as a pair of San Francisco couples who meet for an impromptu night together. A24 acquired the film after its buzzy Sundance Film Festival premiere. The indie distributor is hoping “The Invite,” which will expand next week and go nationwide on July 10, can revive the largely dormant summer comedy.

The micro-budget horror phenomenon “Obsession” continued to hold unusually strong. It took third place on the weekend with US$9.8 million in its seventh weekend of release. Curry Barker’s film, made for less than US$1 million, has now collected US$233.9 million domestically for Focus Features, plus US$108.9 million internationally.

Such legs, however, haven’t materialized for Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller “Disclosure Day.” In the Universal Pictures’ third weekend of release, it slipped to fifth place with US$8.1 million in domestic theaters. Spielberg’s UFO tale has grossed US$193.7 million globally in three weeks.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:

1. “Toy Story 5,” US$70 million.

2. “Supergirl,” US$38 million.

3. “Obsession,” US$9.8 million.

4. “Jackass: Best and Last,” US$8.4 million.

5. “Disclosure Day,” US$8.1 million.

6. “Backrooms,” US$4.3 million.

7. “Scary Movie,” US$3 million.

8. “Masters of the Universe,” US$2.2 million.

9. “Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity,” US$2 million.

10. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” US$1.6 million.

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press