Supergirl Is a Box Office Bomb, What’s Next for DC Studios?

In “Supergirl,” a melodramatic cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” scores a climactic battle sequence, with the song’s lyrics meant to offer encouragement to the plucky heroine: “Hey, don’t write yourself off yet…”

Yet the initial box office results for “Supergirl” would suggest that audiences are, in fact, writing off the film — and continuing to reject lesser-known comic book protagonists. The Warner Bros. and DC Studios adaptation, which centers on Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El, misfired with $38 million in North America and $68 million globally in its opening weekend. After launching below expectations, the big-budget film is shaping up to be a money loser for the studio, as well as a major setback for the newly rebooted DC Universe.

Warner Bros. and DC spent $170 million to produce and roughly $120 million to market the comic book adventure, which takes place in outer space as Supergirl and an alien girl named Ruthye embark on a quest for vengeance and justice. Those lackluster initial ticket sales are concerning because “Supergirl” hasn’t been widely embraced by the general public, and there’s intense competition during the height of summer movie season, which could hobble the film’s box office staying power. Next weekend sees the release of another family-friendly film, Universal’s animated “Minions & Monsters,” while Disney’s live-action “Moana,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” round out the month of July.

“This was always going to be a tough hurdle for DC and Warner Bros. because Supergirl isn’t a character that has ever created an event-level blockbuster,” says analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. “Audience perception of ‘Supergirl’ was not good. This is just a case of the film wasn’t good enough to become an event.”

Traditionally, a movie on the scale of “Supergirl” would need to earn…