James Gunn's Superman Has A Brand New Streaming Home

If you follow box office reporting, you're well aware that Craig Gillespie's "Supergirl" has a major tracking problem. Set to open on Friday, June 26, the second movie in James Gunn's DC Universe is currently expected to open in the $47 million to $60 million range in theaters. That puts the film uncomfortably close to the $46 million debut for the Marvel Cinematic Universe flick "The Marvels," which went on to become the lowest-grossing MCU movie ever at the box office. Given its decade-plus run of mostly blockbusters, the MCU could take the hit. The DCU, however, is just getting going. And while Gunn's "Superman" did well enough commercially last year, it still made less than Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" (the launchpad for the defunct DC Extended Universe) did all the way back in 2013.

Reviews are still embargoed (though the first reactions are out), so we've no idea if "Supergirl" could be a buzzy hit that earns a long-ish theatrical run. (Anecdotally, I've heard from some critic friends that it's very good.) But with a reported $175 million budget, "Supergirl" needs to gross somewhere around $430 million worldwide to break even. It's not impossible for a film to open in the current tracking range for "Supergirl" and hit that number ("Ant-Man" debuted with $57 million over its first weekend before going on to gross $519 million globally, albeit in a pre-pandemic marketplace), but for a follow-up to a movie that bowed much bigger, it's nervous times at Warner Bros.

That's likely why the studio has licensed "Superman" to Prime Video, a service with a much larger subscriber base than HBO Max (which will still stream the film as well). If the "Supergirl" advertising isn't doing the trick, remind moviegoers of the Kryptonian adventure they know and love.

I'm excited for "Supergirl" primarily because Milly Alcock is perfect bad-girl casting for Kara Zor-El. She's got the DGAF attitude and, thus, seems like a perfect complement to her boy scout cousin Kal-El (who will appear at least briefly in the movie, as evidenced by this clip featuring Alcock's Supergirl and baby Krypto opposite David Corenswet's Man of Steel). I'm also intrigued by the story comparisons between the film and its primary source material – writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely's comic "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" — and the likes of "True Grit" and "The Road Warrior" (with journalist Mike Ryan having noted their similarities to the latter). This suggests that "Supergirl" will play a little rougher than "Superman" ... though one just hopes it doesn't relapse to the grimness of Zack Snyder's DCEU.

WB's marketing department has been killing it over the last year with its enticing campaigns for "Sinners," "Superman," "Weapons," and "One Battle After Another," so it's a tad concerning that the ads for "Supergirl" aren't generating more excitement. I refuse to believe that there isn't a bigger audience for "Supergirl," so, hopefully, bringing "Superman" to Prime Video, where many people might be watching it for the first time, will boost interest in the film. It'd be a bummer for James Gunn's DCU to stumble so soon after its triumphant kickoff. We'll know if this maneuver worked soon enough!

"Supergirl," to reiterate, opens in theaters on June 26, 2026.