Supergirl, the Milly Alcock film from James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe, is tracking to earn significantly less in its opening weekend than its predecessor Superman did in its opening frame in 2025.
Superman, of course, introduced Alcock’s Supergirl in a cameo toward the end of the Gunn-directed film as the hard-partying owner of Krypto the Superdog, the four-legged canine companion that accompanied Clark Kent/Superman (David Corenswet) throughout the film. Corenswet, in turn, will appear in Supergirl.
FORBES | By Tim Lammers
Tarantino Rips Hollywood For ‘Audience Pandering’ And ‘Miscast’ Actors
Directed by Craig Gillespie, the film finds Kara Zor-El/Supergirl on a mission of vengeance. Supergirl also introduces Jason Momoa to the DCU as the badass anti-hero Lobo and also stars Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts and David Krumholtz.
Supergirl opens in theaters on June 26, and according to Deadline, the film is tracking to make $55 million domestically in its first weekend frame. By contrast, Superman opened with $125 million in its opening weekend from July 11-13.
Superman went on to earn $354.2 million domestically and $264 million internationally for a worldwide domestic take of $618.7 million before marketing expenses. Forbes Australia reported in December that Supergirl had a $200 million budget before marketing, a number that was disputed by Gunn. In a Threads post, Gunn said, “Not even a little bit true.”
FORBES | By Tim Lammers
‘Obsession’ Streaming Date Skipped In Favor Of Longer Theatrical-To-PVOD Window
Deadline, however, reported on Tuesday that the film cost $175 million before marketing (that’s what they “hear,” anyway), which is still a hefty number. How much the marketing cost for Supergirl is yet to be revealed, if at all. However, less than a week after Superman opened last year, Variety reported that the film had a production budget of $225 million with another $125 million to market it.
Milly Alcock Has Already Been Courting Controversy Before The Release Of ‘Supergirl’
While no one knows for sure why Supergirl is tracking far below Superman’s opening and where it will end up at the box office, one thing that can’t be of help is star Milly Alcock’s controversial comments in the past couple of months.
In a March interview with Vanity Fair, Alcock said she was certain to face online backlash for playing Supergirl and likened the experience to something she felt when she starred as the young version of Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon from 2022 to 2024.
FORBES | By Tim Lammers
‘Obsession’ Star Inde Navarrette Pinpoints Where We’ll See Nikki Next
“It definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on,” Alcock told Vanity Fair. “We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies. I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself.”
Then, in a May 20 interview with Variety, Alcock doubled down on her commentary on sexism and took aim at potential members of Supergirl’s viewing audience in the process.
FORBES | By Tim Lammers
‘Backrooms’ Streaming: Why Film’s Big Box Office Will Likely Change A24’s PVOD Strategy
“I guess women know that this is just how it’s always been, unfortunately,” Alcock told Variety. “And it’s from a lot of people whose profiles have no photo, who are burner accounts. Or someone’s name and then ‘Dad of four, Christian,’ which is hilarious to me. But I mean, whose opinion do you really care about? If you’re pissing the right kind of people off, you’re doing OK.”
Alcock’s charged comments in turn caught the attention of such popular comic book, sci-fi and fantasy-focused YouTube creators as Film Threat, Nerdrotic and Critical Drinker, who likened the actress’ comments to Rachel Zegler’s controversial comments before the release of the box office flop Snow White in 2025.
Supergirl opens in theaters on June 26.
FORBES | By Tim Lammers
‘Masters Of The Universe’ Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Praise But Find Glitches In Power Of Grayskull
June 4: This article has been updated to include Deadline’s report of the production budget on “Supergirl.”
This article was originally published on Forbes.com