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Supergirl hit theaters on June 26th, and it looks like it will be a lot quicker to watch at home than anyone expected. Warner Bros. needed Supergirl to be a bigger success than it was when they planned it out as the second release from James Gunn’s DCU. However, thanks to early negative reviews, some review bombing, and stiff competition, it failed to end up an opening weekend success story. Thanks to megahits like Toy Story 5, the DCU movie never even hit the top spot, joining Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and Masters of the Universe as 2026 box office bombs. Warner Bros. might be trying to offset costs now with its latest rumored move.
There are new rumors coming on X that reveal that Supergirl will hit digital platforms on July 28th, which is only 32 days after its theatrical release. This beats Superman’s record from 2025, where that movie hit digital just 35 days after its theatrical release. It should be noted that James Gunn has not confirmed or denied this yet.
'SUPERGIRL' is reportedly targeting a July 28 Digital release.
Just over 30 days after its theatrical debut. pic.twitter.com/Xq7cfwzG4N
— DC Film News (@DCFilmNews) July 6, 2026
Why Supergirl Coming Out Fast Matters for Warner Bros.
Supergirl had a very low $37.1 million opening weekend, which caused it to rank below Toy Story 5, which was in its second weekend. There was hope that it could rebound in the second week, but thanks to the arrival of the shockingly critically acclaimed Minions & Monsters, Supergirl suffered a terrible 74% decline from its debut, making only $9.6 million domestically. There is almost no way the movie can break even on its budget, so the studio might want to find another way to monetize it, and that would be moving it to digital for people to buy and watch at home.
However, there could be another reason behind the move, at least as far as James Gunn is concerned. When Superman hit digital after only 35 days, James Gunn explained the reasoning behind it. That movie was relatively successful at the box office, especially compared to the box office of most superhero movies over the past few years. According to Gunn at the time, the fast move to digital for Superman was because of Peacemaker’s second season. “I wanted everyone to be able to see Superman that wanted to, even those people who couldn’t get to a theater before Peacemaker,” Gunn explained.
Supergirl has to be seen as a major box office disappointment, but Gunn could still try to swing things in his favor. Just like how Peacemaker’s second season came out right after Superman’s digital release, Lanterns will do the same following Supergirl hitting digital. Lanterns hits HBO Max on August 16th, which would give fans just over two weeks to watch Supergirl at home before that new DCU series begins streaming. While it’s not the real reason for a quick move to digital, it could at least set things up for Gunn to start promoting the next project in the pipeline.
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