You ever notice when a comic book film is set to come out with a female lead, there is always discourse? This is nothing new for Supergirl that is set to come out on June 26, 2026 with certain people attacking the appearance of star Milly Alcock and the box office projections being between $45-50 million opening weekend. It also does not help that Toy Story 5 is opening to rave reviews and it comes out a week before Supergirl. Can this film escape the fate that has accompanied Kara Zor El in cinema or will be the first misfire in James Gunn’s DC universe?

Its hard to ignore the fact that every film that has starred the character has failed. The 1984 film Supergirl spun off of the popular Superman films, kind of like the upcoming film. Helen Slater played Kara Zor-El in a disjointed film that only true fans of Supergirl really enjoyed. As of June 16, 2026 the film has 20% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 26% fan rating. Supergirl would underwhelm at the box office, only bringing in $14.3 million. For the next 39 years, the character would be relegated to the comics and the small screen, it seemed as if the character had become kryptonite to the box office.

On June 16, 2023 Supergirl would appear in another film and sadly it would be another box-office failure. Originally I praised The Flash when it came out, not for the title character but for Michael Keaton’s return as Batman and the introduction of a new Kara Zor-El with the film debut of Sasha Calle. The last three years has not been kind to anyone involved in this film, this film was kryptonite to the entire cast. Ezra Miller has not starred in a film since The Flash. Michael Keaton had a successful return as Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, however the film did not live up to expectations for fans. And finally there is Supergirl herself, Sasha Calle who had the opportunity of a lifetime to play Kara Zor-El and if she was in any other film, she would have become a household name. The Flash was dead on arrival with the DC universe not living up to expectations and a leading man that was dislike by the main audience. It would only go on to gross $271.4 Million worldwide, while losing $200 million. However critically it did better than the 1984 Supergirl with 63% critic rating and 81% fan rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

As we look forward to Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El it is unfortunate that Sasha Calle will not get an opportunity to build upon her character from The Flash. Even with a lengthy runtime of 2 hours and 24 minutes, Sasha Calle had very limited screen time that left many wanting more. Milly was a scene stealer in the first season of House of The Dragon as the young Rhaenyra Targaryen, her casting caused excitement. The excitement was elevated by her unexpected cameo in Superman, as we saw a Supergirl that was different from the one many grew up with watching on the small scene. This Supergirl was not the plunky good girl that Melissa Benoist portrayed on the show that ran for six season. No, this Supergirl was a drunk party animal. Calling Superman a “bitch”, had me excited to see a full featured film with this character. So why is it a week before the film, there is discourse that the film will fail?

Well first lets start with the animated giants it is sandwiched in between. A week before Supergirl comes out, Toy Story 5 comes out and its already receiving praise. The Disney & Pixar film will carry over to the following week and into the July 4th weekend most likely. There is the new installment of the Minions franchise Minions & Monsters coming out on July 1st. Supergirl will have to find a way to drive families away from those two films to financially succeed. Right now the audience for Supergirl looks to be the comic book fans and even they are divided on the film as some are turning on Milly Alcock. There is a chance that these comic book fans may just wait until the end of July to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day and watch Supergirl when it comes onto HBO Max.

I have no doubts that Supergirl will be received well by critics, with the source material being among Tom King’s best work in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and a creative team that knows what they are doing. Jason Momoa playing Lobo, a character that he was born to play and it being an extension of the well received DC Universe that James Gunn and Peter Safran have created. The ingredients are there for another fantastic entry in the superhero genre. Hell, I am super excited for this film because of all of those factors and believing that Alcock will deliver as Supergirl.

I really want this film to succeed and we will have a review on the film as soon as see it. But if the film is good and it fails, its mainly due to the theater being packed with more surefire hits. Supergirl may be the lowest grossing film in James Gunn DC universe but that does not make a film bad. With the failure of Masters of the Universe and success of Obsession, movie goers are in a different mindset and Supergirl could struggle because of that. Even if Supergirl is a box-office failure, we should not be calling for a return to the Snyder-verse as DC fans have a lot to look forward to this year and next.