The “female superhero movies are doomed” narrative that popped up around Supergirl‘s flop has a source, and Puck‘s Matt Belloni just named it: DC’s own publicity team.
In his latest newsletter, Belloni handed DC’s PR team a “dishonorable mention” for pushing the idea that post-pandemic, female-led superhero movies are finished, instead of owning the much simpler explanation: a $170 million movie was poorly received and opened to just $37 million.
Matt Belloni Calls Out DC’s Supergirl Spin
Belloni does not pretend sexism is not real. He grants that the comics fan base has an ugly streak, and that the sequels to female-fronted Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel all underperformed.
But that hostility is not new, which is his point (and it’s from a small number of fans, which he doesn’t mention much like any fanbase). If it has always been there, it cannot suddenly explain why Supergirl collapsed at the box office.
Each of those sequels also landed well below its predecessor with critics and audiences. Same goes for Madame Web, which had a 10% score on Rotten Tomatoes before opening to just $14 million in 2024.
In other words, audiences did not reject those movies because women were in them. They rejected them because the movies did not work.
Superhero Slump Is Not A Female Problem
Belloni also points out the larger problem with the spin: the superhero slump is not limited to female-led films.
The male-fronted Venom sequels earned less post-Covid, too. The Flash, Black Adam, Eternals, and Thunderbolts all came in well under the boom years. So did Captain America: Brave New World and Fantastic Four. There’s also Kraven. Joker 2. The Marvel Disney Plus shows. Gunn’s own Peacemaker.
So blaming Supergirl‘s failure on some broad rejection of female superheroes does not line up with the numbers. The entire genre has been getting punished when the movies feel weak and stale.
That is the case we already made when the trades first reached for the toxic-fanboy explanation.
What has changed is that the most plugged-in newsletter in the business is now making the same argument, and putting the spin on DC itself. My, how times have changed.
DC Blames The Audience Instead Of The Movie
Belloni’s bottom line is the one the box office keeps proving.
A modern superhero movie has to actually be good. It has to feel like its own thing. It has to give people a reason to show up beyond a familiar logo and another shared-universe breadcrumb.
Supergirl managed none of that.
That is what makes the sexism excuse so convenient. It blames the audience instead of the movie, and it lets the studio dodge the bad reviews, the weak buzz, and the B- CinemaScore from the crowd that actually bought tickets.
The numbers do not back up the spin. Belloni’s point, and ours, is simple: this was not about audiences refusing to watch a female superhero movie. This was about audiences refusing to watch a female superhero movie. 60% of the audience was male. Women, girls, and the younger generation skipped it.
Belloni also conveniently forgets to mention a big reason fans skipped Supergirl: they’re simply tired of the messaging.
