Supergirl Official Runtime Makes It One of the Shortest DC Movies Ever (Is That Good?)

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James Gunn and Peter Safran are creating a brand-new shared universe for DC Studios. The second film in this new universe will be Supergirl, based on the popular comic book series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely. Milly Alcock will star as Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin. This version of Supergirl had a much harder upbringing than Superman, witnessing the destruction of Krypton and the loss of everyone she knew, making her more cynical. The film will explore her origins and follow her on a journey across the galaxy with a young alien as they hunt down a dangerous criminal.

Despite a lot happening in the new Supergirl movie, it’s surprisingly brief for a superhero film. Initial estimates from theaters put the runtime around 1 hour and 50 minutes, but the Irish Film Classification Office has confirmed it’s actually 1 hour and 47 minutes and 55 seconds. This makes it one of the shortest DC movies in recent years – the last one to run under two hours was 2020’s Birds of Prey at 1 hour and 49 minutes. Looking back further, only a few DC theatrical releases have been shorter, like the original Supergirl from 1984 (1 hour and 45 minutes), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1 hour and 30 minutes), and Catwoman (1 hour and 44 minutes). It’s perhaps not the most impressive list of comparable films.

Is a Shorter Runtime Good or Bad for Superhero Movies? 

A shorter movie isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The first Deadpool movie, at just under two hours, is hugely popular, and the original X-Men was a critical and commercial hit at a similar length. In fact, many long blockbusters have been criticized for feeling slow or drawn-out. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, for example, received a lot of negative reviews partly because its two-hour and thirty-one-minute runtime felt exhausting and poorly paced. However, a short movie can also be poorly made. The theatrical release of Justice League proves this – studio executives demanded it be under two hours, leading to aggressive cuts that rushed the story and compromised the original creative vision.

A movie’s quality isn’t about how long it is, but whether it successfully delivers the story its creators envisioned. In the case of Supergirl, the film’s length seems to be a natural result of that creative process. The script, written by Ana Nogueira based on Tom King’s popular comic, was immediately praised by DC Studios’ James Gunn, who felt it exceeded his expectations. Because the film was built around a clear and focused story, its shorter runtime suggests a confident team was able to tell the story they wanted, without any unnecessary scenes.

Supergirl opens in theaters and IMAX on June 26th. 

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2026-06-09 14:10