Industry projections for Supergirl and Clayface are not positive. Matt Belloni of Puck News included the DC Comics’ films on his list of red flags for Warner Bros. in 2026. Two films that would once have been treated as future blockbusters are now sharing space alongside financially risky or strategically questionable films. It’s less about whether or not the movies will be good, so much as when they will arrive given current trends and competition.
While Belloni’s assessments are subtle, they could signal a major shift in strategy at Warner Bros.
Sinners Was a Winner — Superman Struggled
Last year Warner Bros. co-chairs and co-CEOs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy oversaw one of the best six-month release runs in Hollywood history. While Superman failed to impress, and One Battle After Another “will lose money but likely win the best picture Oscar,” other films overperformed. According to Belloni, Sinners and Weapons were “two big statement wins amid solid support and fortuitous timing on the other hits.”
A screenshot from Sinners – YouTube, Warner Bros.
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Belloni says Superman “worked well enough to please fans and enable future DC movies,” which isn’t exactly glowing praise. In fact, he added that he gave it “a bit of a pass because expectations were so low, and Marvel whiffed worse.
The performance of Superman (or lack thereof, particularly in overseas markets) may be one of the reasons for raising a red flag about its follow-up film, Supergirl.
A Blunt Assessment of Supergirl
While Belloni goes into some detail for some of the movies on his list of red flags, he simply describes Supergirl as “Lower-budget DC with Milly Alcock starring.” It’s a blunt assessment of a movie on which many fans have likely made up their minds.
The December teaser trailer, rather than building hype for the film, received tremendous backlash. Seven days after the trailer’s release on YouTube, it had 21 million views, with 373,828 likes to an estimated 43,323 dislikes. Interest for Supergirl is also low in China, where it failed to make the top 10 most anticipated films on the entertainment tracking platform Douban.
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Basically, the industry is preparing to treat Supergirl like just another movie, and not the event film that Superman was. As an even lesser-known quantity, Clayface may receive even less attention.
Dismissing Clayface
Clayface is summed up as an R-rated “DC villain horror movie.” It’s the only other DC movie coming out 2026, and is set in the same continuity as Superman and Supergirl, despite its reportedly being very different in tone. Welsh actor Tom Rhys Harries has been cast as the tragic Batman villain, with James Watkins set to direct.
Clayface in Batman The animated Series – YouTube, DC Kids
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A relatively unknown actor leading a body-horror film centered around a niche comic book character may be reason enough to raise the red flags. Clayface may not be a financial disaster, but when an industry publication like Puck News practically dismisses its relevance, the potential viability of the film seems to be in danger.
But Warner Bros. may have already anticipated this and planned a contingency.
What Will Define 2026?
If the success of films like Sinners and Weapons offers any indication of a change in direction, Warner Bros. may not be overly concerned. In Belloni’s analysis, the studio’s “upcoming year will be defined not by whether Supergirl or Clayface do either $300 million or $500 million.” Instead, he suggests that it all hinges on movies like the Tom Cruise vehicle Digger, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!
Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Two (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures
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But if Supergirl and Clayface bomb at the box office this year, Warner Bros. may not be waving a red flag in the comic book movie wars — but a white one.
Do you think Supergirl and Clayface are red flags for the future of comic book movies? Let us know in the comments!
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Of all the villains in the DC rogue’s gallery, I am flabbergasted at the choice to make a Clayface movie with basically an unknown lead actor and director.
Since Clayface isn’t exactly a household name, maybe there’s some room to experiment, but as a DC movie people are going to be expecting incredibly high value in either the production or the script. I expect they will cut corners and use the excuse that it is “rated R” with smaller reach.
A laughable excuse considering the long history of stellar “R” super hero movies. Deadpool & Logan being the most recent and older movies like the Blade, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Sin City… maybe they aren’t formulaic “traditional” superhero movies but they’ll be part of building the expectations.
When you try, you can make compelling content, but not when your movie is “James Gunn Presents: Clayface a James Gunn production. James Gunn!”