movies

‘Supergirl’ Bombs at the Box Office, Will Lose $125M

Published

1 month ago

June 29, 2026

Marvel Boss Kevin Feige once said back at a Guaridans of the Galaxy Vol. 2 presser that when it came to the studio’s embrace of deeper character comic book stories like Black Panther and Ant-Man, “The biggest risk was not [in] doing them. The biggest risk would have been doing Iron Man 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.”

As such, the revived DC Studios under Guardians of the Galaxy franchise filmmaker James Gunn and Conjuring franchise producer Peter Safran has plans to do exactly that: Not to gavage moviegoers on a diet of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, rather to build secondary characters into diamond properties.

So they took a swing on Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s visceral and edgy graphic novel Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which fans consider a True Grit-type story in the Krypton sub-verse. It has cost Gunn and Safran’s DC dearly; Industry sources are estimating a $125M loss after a $68M WW and $37M domestic opening and all first cycle downstream ancillaries. Warner sources have told us that breakeven for the Craig Gillespie-directed space opera resides in the $315M global range after a reported $170M-$186M net production cost and $120M global P&A (that doesn’t include the record DC $100M promotional partner campaign).

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was a sophisticated story about Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, coming out of her drunken stupor to avenge the murders of a young girl’s family at the hands of a notorious villain Krem. Clearly, the IP was a significant one-up from 1980s Superman producer Alexander Salkind’s spinoff, Supergirl, which Warner Bros passed on releasing in 1984 (and TriStar took over) following the Richard Pryor starring Superman III tanking. That Helen Slater-headlining movie deep-sixed at the B.O. with just over $14M domestic per Box Office Mojo. In the hands of Gillespie — whose specialty is edgy female-empowerment tales like the Oscar-winning I, Tonya and Cruella as well as the Emmy winning Hulu series Pam & Tommy — how could Supergirl go wrong?

Unlike Marvel Studios, which has OD’ed on Disney+ streaming series and rapidly pumped out secondary character pics, Gunn and Safran made a point to be really strict about development, and to never go into production on a half-written screenplay. That said, I’m told the Supergirl adaptation by Hightown actress Ana Nogueira was beloved internally, and considered ready to go.

Coming away from testing, DC knew there were hurdles ahead. The response to Supergirl was ‘good, not great’ and that just doesn’t fly with any superhero movie today. Tracking services told Deadline as summer kicked off that Supergirl, along with Amazon MGM Studios’ bomb Masters of the Universe and Universal/Amblin’s Disclosure Day were key event films which were extremely lukewarm in their word of mouth. The ho-hum on Supergirl was further exacerbated by the response to the first trailer and the takeaway from CinemaCon (the bus battle scene shown wasn’t entirely embraced).

Social media movie analytics firm RelishMix reported before the pic’s opening, “Mixed-negative leaning chatter for Supergirl centers on concerns that the film feels overly James Gunn-coded, with recurring criticism aimed at the humor, characterization, and perceived Guardians-style DNA. Skeptics argue Kara comes across less like Supergirl and more like a cosmic antihero, while others question the trailer’s tone, vocal performance, and reliance on familiar visual beats. Comparisons to Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy, the 1984 Supergirl, and even recent Superman adaptations are used as measuring sticks rather than compliments. The sharpest critiques suggest audience fatigue with Gunn’s stylistic fingerprints and concern that the character has drifted from her traditional identity. Remarks include ‘This looks like Guardians of the Galaxy as a one woman show’ and ‘More campy, comedic fake-looking CGI.’ Additional examples include, ‘This movie has failure written all over it’ and ‘Looks worse than the one from the 80s.’”

Overalll social media reach on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X and Instagram for Supergirl was small at 639M compared to the 953.8M racked up by Superman, Thor: Love & Thunder‘s 963.2M, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s 732M.

“When things get negative on a superhero property, they go negative quickly in a meteoric way,” one industry analyst told us, citing examples of The Flash (which was dogged by tabloid reports about its star Ezra Miller before opening), The Marvels as well as Joker: Folie a Deux, a Stephen Sondheim-like musical no fan wanted.

Critics and fanboy media thrashed Supergirl not just for its Guardians of the Galaxy touchstones, but for aping Mad Max as well. How dare Supergirl save enslaved women in the galaxy like Mad Max and Furiosa! Following the misfire of Lionsgate’s Ballerina last summer ($140.2M WW), and Furiosa the summer before ($174.3M WW), these female-led action pics and superhero properties come up against immense male toxicity, with some critics’ picking on Supergirl headliner Milly Alcock’s physique. Captain Marvel, given that it was a bridge to Avengers: Endgame in March 2019, was able to withstand such nastiness with a $1.1 billion gross. But its 2023 successor, The Marvels, could not ($206.1M). Also invincible was 2017’s Wonder Woman at $823.7M WW. Here’s why: There had never been a feature film made about the beloved and very popular DC character, which immediately drew women over 25 (32%), with women under 25 not too far behind (23%). Also there was the fresh allure of Gal Gadot as an Amazon. Critics embraced the big screen take on Diana of Themyscrira at 93% certified fresh while throwing tomatoes in Supergirl‘s face at 54% Rotten.

Supergirl was an attempt by the new DC to deliver a movie for the under-25 audience, much like Wonder Woman with older females. However, Supergirl is dark stuff: Her parents die at the beginning of the film and her dog is on the brink of death. You wanna know what young women want, look no further than Amazon Prime’s lineup of sudsy series, Off Campus and The Summer I Turned Pretty, which Supergirl is not. Supergirl wound up only pulling in a low 15% women under 25. Overall definite recommend on Screen Engine and Rentrak’s Postmark audience exits was 52% versus Superman which was bigger at 74%.

But if $37M-$74.3M (the high range being last summer’s Thunderbolts*) is the new opening domestic weekend range for deeper comic book characters, why not just make these risky deep universe movies cheaper? Again, don’t spend $120M-plus on a production that can’t pull in more than three demos. On the flip side, you can’t underspend on VFX, take a flier on a galaxy hopping space opera and in the end underserve fans.

Some like to think that Supergirl being wedged between the success of Toy Story 5 and the upcoming Minions & Monsters admid the noise of the World Cup is recipe for failure. Nah. Other PG-13 live-action fan properties have been booked in the July 4 corridor and worked before, i.e. last year’s Jurassic World: Rebirth. Plus, we aren’t even in the thick of World Cup semifinals yet.

When it comes to making a superhero movie leap off a building nowadays with a single bound, one studio insider asserts, “good, not great doesn’t cut it. You can’t get away with it. The fans will have their knives out for you.”

movies

Halloween Horror Nights Lineup: Full 2026 List Of Offerings

Published

55 minutes ago

August 10, 2026

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Universal Studios Hollywood has unveiled the final additions to its fan-favorite Halloween Horror Nights event.

Among them are the return of a haunted house based on the 1988 camp slasher classic Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Other new frights include “KILLceañera: Music by SLASH” and “Dead, Deader, Deadest.” There will also be a fiery stunt show based on The Purge franchise. Additionally, the park’s Halloweenified Terror Tram returns with an all-new host, Art the Clown from the Terrifier movies.

Halloween Horror Nights starts on Thursday, September 3 and continues select nights through Sunday, November 1.

Previously-announced haunted houses include those based on Sinners, Stranger Things, Hellraiser and Evil Dead as well as one that pays homage to Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness.

Additionally this year, Universal Studios Hollywood will debut “Unmasking the Horror Tour Add-On,” a behind the scenes, daytime experience for guests who want a closer look at the craftmanship that goes into Halloween Horror Nights.

Ticket options for the main event include General Admission, Universal Express Ticket, R.I.P. Tour, Day/Night Ticket and After 2 p.m. Day/Night Ticket. Plus, Early Access Ticket provides entry to select haunted houses beginning at 5:30 p.m. (subject to change). Also, the popular Frequent Fear Pass and Ultimate Fear Pass allow guests to experience scares again and again throughout the season.

movies

Tedde Moore Dead: Actress Played Ralphie’s Teacher in A Christmas Story

Published

1 hour ago

August 10, 2026

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Tedde Moore, an actress who is best known as playing young Ralphie Parker’s teacher in A Christmas Story, has died. She was 79.

Moore died Wednesday in Huntsville, Ontario, according to a post on her Facebook page. A cause of death was not given.

“On Wednesday August 5th under sunny skies overlooking Fairy Lake, Tedde passed away surrounded by family physically and spiritually in her beloved Huntsville Muskoka,” the post reads. “Her bravery in this choice was almost overwhelming, beyond beautiful and also difficult. Forever the teacher, she had a quote for every occasion and a special way of touching the lives and hearts of everyone she met. Her magic and love will be remembered by all she took under her generous and welcoming wings.”

Moore played Miss Shields in the 1983 Christmas classic opposite Peter Billingsley. She memorably gives Ralphie a bad grade on his paper about wanting the Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas and also has to deal with Flick (Scott Schwartz)’s getting his tongue stuck on a ice-cold flagpole. Moore was nominated for a Genie Award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, for best performance by an actress in a supporting role. She reprised her role for 1994’s My Summer Story, which, like A Christmas Story, was based on Jean Shepherd’s semi-autobiographical stories.

Her other TV appearances include spots on Friday the 13th: The Series, RoboCop: Prime Directives, Odyssey 5 and This Is Wonderland.

Moore played Mrs. Claus in the 2011 TV movie Mistletoe Over Manhattan and also portrayed Nanny Shaw in the miniseries The Kennedys that same year. According to iMDB.com, her final credit was the 2017 TV movie Magical Christmas Ornaments.

Born April 11, 1947, Moore was the daughter of Darwina Faessler Moore and actor Mavor Moore, best known for playing the title role in a Canadian radio drama adaptation of Nero Wolfe in 1982. Her grandmother was Canadian theater pioneer Dora Mavor Moore.

She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 1967 with the Principal’s Medal of Honor. After graduating, she starred opposite Christopher Walken in the Stratford Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In 2009, Moore was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Moore had two children with Canadian film and television director Donald Shebib, who directed many documentaries, including 1970’sGoin’ Down the Road and 1973’s Between Friends. Their children are daughter Suzanna, a child actor (Are You Afraid of the Dark?) turned teacher, and Noah, a child actor (Goosebumps) turned Grammy-winning music producer, also known as “40,” who is a frequent collaborator of Drake’s. 40, who produced the Drake hits “Hold On, We’re Going Home,” “One Dance,” “God’s Plan,” “Toosie Slide” and “Take Care,” was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007, two years before his mother.

Moore has another daughter, Zoë, from a previous relationship with actor Patrick Christopher Carter, and raised a foster daughter, Chaunce Drury.

movies

Justice Smith Addresses Fans On ‘Heated Rivalry’ Harris Drover Casting

Published

2 hours ago

August 10, 2026

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The casting of most beloved literary characters in screen adaptation inevitably creates online discourse as fans of the books have their own preconceived notions for what the characters should look like. Heated Rivalry is no exception, with the announcement on Friday that Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie will play Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively, in Season 2 of the hugely popular series based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changer books, triggering a strong reaction.

Smith appeared to address the discourse on his Instagram Story.

“I am moved by the support and love I’m getting from fans in my dms, fans who have welcomed me with open arms and who already feel a responsibility to protect me.”

The protecting part is likely a reference to negative comments posted online, a lot of them pointed at Smith’s casting.

“I am honored to play a character that you all care about deeply and I promise that I will take good care of him if you give me the chance,” he wrote, adding, “I am beyond excited for the experience.”

The negative online response to the Harris and Troy castings also prompted Reid to remind fans that Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams — now loved around the world for their portrayal of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, respectively — weren’t an easy sell either.

“Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for llya and Shane was wrong and bad…,” Reid wrote on her Instagram Story.

Harris Drover and Troy Barrett are the central couple in Role Model, the fifth book in Reid’s bestselling Game Changer series, which is being used as source material for Season 2 alongside the Ilya and Shane follow-up book, The Long Game.

Troy is a hockey player on Ilya’s team with a history of bullying, while Harris is the team’s cheerful social media manager,

“From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen,” Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney and fellow executive producer Brendan Brady said on Friday about the search for Harris and Troy. “Justice and Charlie do exactly that. They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.”