The latest Pixar release, Toy Story 5, has dominated the box office, significantly outperforming Warner Bros.’ newest DC movie, Supergirl. In its second week, Toy Story 5 made $70 million in domestic sales and $89.1 million internationally, accumulating $585 million worldwide in just two weeks, solidifying its position as one of the year’s major successes.
On the other hand, Supergirl opened with $38 million in U.S. and Canada and brought in an additional $30 million from overseas markets. Directed by Craig Gillespie, Supergirl is the second release from James Gunn and Peter Safran, who assumed the leadership of DC Studios in 2022. Their first release, Superman, grossed $618 million globally. However, Supergirl faltered with critics and audiences, securing a 56% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B-” CinemaScore.
The disappointing opening places Supergirl behind other DC Comics films like The Flash and The Green Lantern, and slightly ahead of Joker: Folie à Deux. According to David A. Gross from FranchiseRe, superhero films no longer capture box office revenue like they did before the pandemic, with a deficit of about $3.5 billion from earlier peaks.
While films like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel achieved enormous success in 2017 and 2019, female-led superhero films have struggled recently. Gross noted the lack of a clear explanation for this sudden decline.
The financial stumble of Supergirl, costing $170 million to produce, comes as Warner Bros. Discovery, the studio’s parent company, prepares for acquisition by Paramount Skydance. David Ellison, Paramount’s chief, recently met with Gunn and Safran. The studio’s upcoming release is Clayface, set for October, while Gunn’s Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is due in July 2027. Directed by Craig Gillespie, known for I, Tonya and Cruella, Supergirl stars Milly Alcock as Lara Zor-El, a character with a carefree lifestyle.
Other notable releases include Paramount Pictures’ Jackass: Best and Last, which opened with $8.4 million against its $10 million production cost. In contrast, Olivia Wilde’s comedy The Invite earned one of the year’s best per-screen averages, pulling in $379,104 from just seven screens. The film is set to expand nationwide after an enthusiastic Sundance premiere.
The horror film Obsession, though inexpensive to produce, managed to maintain robust performance, reaching $233.9 million domestically and $108.9 million internationally. Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day slipped to fifth place, accumulating $193.7 million globally.
Final domestic ticket sales confirmed this weekend’s top films:
- 1. Toy Story 5, $70 million
- 2. Supergirl, $38 million
- 3. Obsession, $9.8 million
- 4. Jackass: Best and Last, $8.4 million
- 5. Disclosure Day, $8.1 million
- 6. Backrooms, $4.3 million
- 7. Scary Movie, $3 million
- 8. Masters of the Universe, $2.2 million
- 9. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity, $2 million
- 10. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, $1.6 million
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