DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran has now addressed the Supergirl flop directly, and his message is simple: nothing about the DC plan has changed.
Speaking by phone to the New York Times, Safran acknowledged that Supergirl fell short of the studio’s box office expectations, but framed the movie as “one component of a broader, long-term strategy” at DC, one he said the studio still believes in.
“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,” said Safran.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 22: (L-R) Craig Gillespie, Peter Safran, Milly Alcock and James Gunn attend the SUPERGIRL World Premiere on June 22, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures)
Supergirl Is A Big Box Office Flop
It’s the first on-record response from DC’s leadership since Supergirl opened to just $38 million domestically, lost the weekend to Toy Story 5, earned a B- CinemaScore from the audience that actually showed up, and posted what is described as “horribly low” numbers overseas.
Safran’s confidence is to be expected. Every studio executive says some version of it after a miss. They’re never going to come out and state that it’s a straight disaster, even if it is.
Supergirl was supposed to prove the DCU could expand beyond Superman. Instead, it exposed how thin the runway still looks.
DC’s Long-Term Strategy Is Still Mostly Unbuilt
The bigger issue is what that long-term strategy actually looks like right now.
The next major pillar, Wonder Woman, is still “so early” according to the studio’s own writer. Gunn’s Batman is also nowhere to be found.
Our insiders have told told us Wonder Woman is being added to Man of Tomorrow, played by Adria Arjona.
So when Safran points to the broader slate as the reason for confidence, that could include Wonder Woman, and their upcoming DCU projects with Clayface, the HBO Max Lanterns series, and various animated projects. Safran also recently addressed the Gorilla Grodd series, DCU Justice League, and Batman.
However, beyond Superman, it has to be questioned how much of the audience will show up who just stayed home for Supergirl.
Paramount Sale Puts Gunn And Safran’s DC Future In Question
There is also the corporate elephant in the room.
With Warner Bros. Discovery being sold to Paramount, it is not even settled that Safran and James Gunn will be the ones running DC long enough to see this strategy through.
