Toy Story 5 stays on top as Supergirl opens with $40 million

Toy Story 5 stayed on top of the domestic box office as Supergirl opened in second place with about $40 million, a result that left Warner Bros. and DC Studios facing a far softer launch than earlier forecasts had suggested. The Pixar sequel was headed for a second weekend around $70 million to $80 million, while Supergirl settled into a debut that looked more like a midrange turnout than a summer event.

The contrast sharpened the economics of both franchises. Variety said Toy Story 5 pulled in $21 million on Friday from 4,425 screens after opening the prior weekend to $160 million domestically and $312 million worldwide, and it was on track to finish Sunday with a North American total just under $300 million. Supergirl, directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Milly Alcock, Jason Momoa and David Corenswet, made $18 million on Friday from 3,602 North American theaters and had already collected $7.8 million from Wednesday fan screenings and Thursday previews.

The DC release also opened below the level of the tracking that had once pointed to a $55 million-plus start. Forbes said the film’s estimates had slipped from that range to the upper-$40 millions and then to about $40 million, even before the weekend closed. Deadline put the domestic opening at about $40 million and estimated a global start around $75 million, including about $11 million from 78 international markets on 40,000 screens.

Audience reactions did not suggest a breakout rescue. Deadline reported a B- CinemaScore and a 52% definite recommend on PostTrak, with men at 45% definite recommend and women at 62%. That reception matters because Supergirl carries a production cost Deadline placed in the $170 million to $186 million net range, or about $170 million in Variety’s estimate, which leaves little room for a sluggish theatrical run.

The weekend also underscored how differently the two brands now travel with audiences. Toy Story still benefits from a built-in family audience and decades of goodwill, while Supergirl entered the marketplace in the wake of James Gunn’s Superman universe but still had to prove itself on its own terms. Gunn’s Superman opened to $125 million last summer and finished at $618 million worldwide, a benchmark that only made Supergirl’s opening look more restrained.