Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day is shattering expectations at the global box office, and in the process it has produced one of the most embarrassing comparisons imaginable for James Gunn’s new DC Universe and its latest film, Supergirl.
According to the latest industry projections, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is believed to have earned roughly $168 million domestically on Friday alone, including Thursday preview screenings. That’s enough to surpass the entire worldwide theatrical run of Supergirl, which concluded with approximately $125 million globally.
That means in one day, in one market, Sony pulled in more money than Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest DC blockbuster managed during its entire theatrical run across the globe.
While Spider-Man has always been one of Hollywood’s biggest box office draws, the comparison illustrates just how difficult the road ahead could be for James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe.
Spider-Man Is Delivering One of the Biggest Openings Ever
After smashing the all-time Thursday preview record with roughly $72 million, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has continued its remarkable run.
Current projections have the film challenging the biggest domestic opening weekends in history, with some industry analysts believing it could even threaten Avengers: Endgame’s all-time domestic opening weekend record.
Worldwide, estimates have climbed dramatically over the past week, with some tracking suggesting the film could ultimately finish somewhere between $800 million and $1 billion globally during its opening frame.
Whether those projections ultimately prove accurate remains to be seen. What isn’t in dispute is that audiences turned out in enormous numbers.
That alone should put to rest the increasingly common claim that superhero movies simply aren’t capable of drawing massive audiences anymore.
Supergirl Never Found an Audience
For Warner Bros. Discovery, however, the headlines tell a much different story.
Supergirl reportedly carried a production budget of approximately $170 million, meaning industry analysts estimated the film likely needed over $600 million worldwide to reach profitability after marketing and distribution expenses.
Instead, the film concluded its theatrical run with only about $125 million worldwide.
Supergirl – DC
That makes Supergirl one of the biggest commercial disappointments of the year.
Now that disappointing performance has become even harder to ignore thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which earned more money during its domestic opening day than Supergirl generated worldwide over the course of its entire theatrical release.
Statistics like that tend to follow studios (and studio heads like James Gunn) for a very long time.
Did DC Expand Too Quickly?
Spider-Man outperforming Supergirl isn’t exactly surprising.
Spider-Man has been one of the world’s most recognizable superheroes for decades.
The more interesting question is whether DC Studios attempted to accelerate its new cinematic universe before establishing a strong enough foundation.
Superman beaten down in the trailer for James Gunn’s Superman – YouTube, DC
James Gunn’s Superman served as the launch point for the rebooted DC Universe, but rather than immediately following that film with Batman, Wonder Woman, or another cornerstone character, the studio shifted directly into a standalone Supergirl feature.
That decision always carried significant risk.
Although Supergirl has an established fanbase within DC Comics, previous live-action appearances have offered little evidence that the character could headline a major theatrical blockbuster.
The 1984 Supergirl film struggled commercially, while Sasha Calle’s debut as Supergirl came in The Flash, another film that underperformed significantly at the box office.
Those precedents made Supergirl a difficult choice to build early momentum for an entirely new cinematic universe.
Spider-Man Demonstrates the Value of Strong Franchises
Some observers will naturally argue that comparing Spider-Man and Supergirl isn’t fair.
They’re right—up to a point.
Spider-Man has been among Hollywood’s most reliable franchises for years.
Tom Holland’s previous Spider-Man films earned approximately $881 million, $1.13 billion, and nearly $2 billion worldwide, making him one of the industry’s most bankable stars.
An image from Spider-Man Brand New Day – Sony
But that’s precisely why franchise-building matters.
Marvel spent years carefully establishing its biggest heroes before expanding into increasingly ambitious projects.
By contrast, DC Studios appears to be asking audiences to invest in lesser-established characters before many of its biggest icons have even arrived.
Whether that strategy ultimately succeeds remains an open question.
The early financial returns, however, have been difficult to ignore.
A Difficult Comparison for the New DC Universe
No reasonable observer expected Supergirl to outperform Spider-Man.
Very few, however, expected the gap to be this enormous.
When a competing superhero film earns more during its first domestic day than your movie earns during its entire worldwide theatrical run, it naturally raises questions about long-term franchise strategy.
James Gunn has repeatedly emphasized that rebuilding DC will take time.
James Gunn introduces the trailer for Peacemaker Season 2 – YouTube, DC
But early box office results suggest DC Studios still has significant work to do in convincing audiences that its expanding universe is essential theatrical viewing.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has once again demonstrated that audiences are still willing to show up in extraordinary numbers for superhero films they genuinely want to see.
For Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios, that may be the biggest lesson of all.
How do you feel about Spider-Man beating out Supergirl in a single day? Sound off and let us know!
