DC Studios' Supergirl flop traced to troubled post-production and test-screening bakeoff
The $180 million Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock, earned just $37.1 million on opening weekend after a series of low-scoring test screenings and a contentious bake-off between director Craig Gillespie’s cut and a studio-made version.
DC Studios' latest superhero entry, Supergirl, opened to a $37.1 million weekend, far below expectations for a film with a reported $180 million budget. The movie’s poor performance follows months of internal discord, including a March bake-off in which two competing cuts – one by director Craig Gillespie and another assembled by the studio’s leadership, James Gunn and Peter Safran – were tested to audiences. Scores for both versions fell in the 60s on a 100-point scale, with the studio’s edit edging out Gillespie’s by only two points.
Sources said creative differences between Gunn and Gillespie hampered post-production, and the studio ultimately took control of editing, bringing in writer Jeremy Slater and employing two editors, Tatiana S. Riegel and Fred Raskin. Test screenings held in December 2025, February and March this year showed only modest improvement, prompting the decision to finalize the studio’s cut for release.
“While Supergirl didn’t meet our box office expectations, it’s just one component of a broader, long-term strategy at DC Studios that we remain confident in,” Peter Safran told the New York Times.
The film’s challenges included disputed music choices, a reworked climactic fight, and a lack of consensus on the final edit. Despite the setback, Gunn and Safran plan to continue overseeing DC’s slate, with upcoming projects such as Man of Tomorrow slated for 2027 and several new series in development.