Supergirl Just Had a Rough Weekend, and Toy Story 5 Is Not Letting Up. Supergirl struggled to find her footing at the box office this weekend. Jackass landed its worst opening ever. Toy Story 5 is still sitting comfortably at No. 1 like it owns the place, reports Variety. That says one thing. People who show up to watch movies have become more selective than ever about what they buy a ticket for.
Let’s start with DC, the one that everyone is talking about. Supergirl opened to $38 million domestically from 3,600 theatres and $68 million globally. So the numbers aren’t terrible, but I’m sure that they are definitely not Warner Bros. and DC were expecting. They had set their sights more on numbers that would land somewhere between $50 million and $55 million. And if you think about, this is a fairly modest expectation for a superhero blockbuster.
The fact that this modest number has been missed must really sting. Because when you take the budget of $170 million before marketing entered the conversation into consideration, approximately another $375 million globally will still be required just to break even. Talk about a steep climb from a $38 million opening weekend. The reviews haven’t exactly been helpful either. Critics have scored the film at lukewarm 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences handed it a B- CinemaScore. So it may not be catastrophic. But it also doesn’t have the kind of excitement that gets audiences rushing in either.
It’s funny that with the combination of Milly Alcock who stars as Kara Zor-El alongside Krypto the Superdog, and with Craig Gillespie directing there was every reason to believe this would become another solid hit for James Gunn’s new DC Universe. I guess in the end it’s all about the execution, which in this case missed the landing strip. And this one stings that bit more than your average under performer, because it comes exactly a year after Superman opened to $125 million and finished its run with $618 million.
Turns out Superman’s cousin isn’t quite as easy a sell as Superman himself, which is fair. I mean he is genuinely one of the most recognisable characters on the planet and she just… isn’t yet. Up next for the DC Universe is October’s Clayface, working with a much smaller $40 million budget, followed by Superman: Man of Tomorrow in 2027 bringing back David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult.
On the other side Jackass: Best and Last opened with $8.2 million, making it the weakest debut ever in franchise history. What a sizeable drop from Jackass Forever, which opened to $23 million in 2022. But it’s not all bad news. This movie only cost around $10 million to produce, so profitability here is not out of reach. Also the rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A-” CinemaScore grade, says that the people who did show up actually liked it. This in itself tells you that the issue wasn’t quality. It was simply getting people through the door for something that’s largely a clip-show of new and old stunts.
And then there’s Toy Story 5, sitting at No. 1 for a second straight weekend with $70 million, only a 55% drop from its massive $160 million debut. After just 12 days in theatres it’s already sitting at $297 million domestically and $585 million globally. Pixar at its best, positioning itself as one of the biggest releases of the entire year. I am sure people out there are already betting on how big this thing is going to become?
If this weekend proved anything, it’s that audiences haven’t fallen out of love with cinemas. They’re simply becoming far more deliberate about where they spend their money. Right now, Pixar has their attention.
Everyone else has a bit more convincing to do.
