Warner Bros. knew for months that Supergirl was heading straight into the wall

Even before its theatrical release, the new DC film seriously worried the executives at DC Studios. According to the American press, the studio quickly understood that the film was not working…

Only $58.5 million in North America and $100.5 million worldwide after two weeks of operation is not much. Far too little for a superhero blockbuster like Supergirl.

A very insufficient score considering its budget estimated at 170 million dollars. But according to the American press, the sinking ultimately surprised no one internally.

If we are to believe a recent investigation published by The Hollywood Reporter, DC Studios would have started to worry about the quality of the blockbuster as soon as filming ended, in May 2025.

The first tests with the public would have proved particularly disappointing. Several sources mention scores around 60 out of 100, even if another insider assures that the film would have once reached the 70 mark…

Faced with these results, the studio and director Craig Gillespie would have quickly noted, in the fall of 2025, that the film “didn’t work“.

However, accounts differ on the relationship between the filmmaker and the managers: some speak of creative disagreements, while others evoke classic discussions during the post-production of a blockbuster.

In any case, to try to save the project, DC Studios would then have developed its own version of the film. Screenwriter Jeremy Slater, who previously worked on the film The Authority – since canceled – would have been called in for reinforcement, alongside screenwriter Ana Nogueira, in order to rework several sequences. Nine days of additional reshoots would have made it possible to see the final fight again, while the music would also have been the subject of numerous discussions.

The film even had two editors: Tatiana S. Riegel and Fred Raskin, regular collaborator of James Gunn. According to The Hollywood Reporterthe version edited by the studio obtained better results during test screenings, with scores reaching 70 out of 100. But the reception gap with Craig Gillespie’s version, 11 minutes longer, would ultimately have been only minimal.

DC Studios would still have chosen to release its own version in cinemas. A decision which will not have prevented Supergirl to become one of the biggest critical and commercial failures of 2026.