‘Supergirl’ Trailer Receives More Backlash in 24 Hours Than ‘Superman’ Did in Six Months

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Reports from Cosmic Book News indicate the Supergirl trailer received much more negative feedback in its first day on YouTube than the Superman trailer did in its first six months. Some viewers pointed out that while Superman was shown saving an entire town, Supergirl only rescued a few cats. Now, it appears the new trailer is also falling short in terms of viewership numbers.

I have to say, the new trailer really grabbed my attention! It starts with this hilarious image of Krypto, Supergirl’s dog, well… marking his territory on a picture of Superman, and then we see Supergirl herself looking a bit down and out. It’s definitely sparked a lot of conversation! In just one week, the trailer racked up an incredible 21 million views, and people seemed to love it – there were over 373,000 likes, compared to around 43,000 dislikes.

Okay, so about the Supergirl trailer – I’ve been following the reaction closely, and while a bit of negativity is expected with any big release, around 12.5% of people seeming to dislike it is a little concerning. James Gunn calls this whole thing the ‘Superman saga,’ and honestly, the studio at Warner Bros. is probably paying very close attention to these numbers. It’s tough because we only have one other DCU film to compare it to right now, so they’re really trying to figure out if this is a sign of trouble for future projects.

The State of the DCU

The trailer for last summer’s Superman film has been available on YouTube since May 14, 2025, and has gained significant traction with 36 million views, 578,619 likes, and around 21,180 dislikes. Despite this online engagement, the movie itself didn’t perform as well as hoped at the box office, earning a worldwide total of approximately $616 million. While a decent amount, many observers believe this fell short of Warner Bros.’ expectations for the film.

James Gunn’s fresh start for the DC Universe began with the movie Superman. Since then, the DCU expanded to television with season two of the adult-oriented series Peacemaker on HBO Max. While the show generated a lot of discussion, it lost viewers as the season went on.

Based on the negative reaction to the trailer, the upcoming Supergirl movie might need to be adjusted if it stays on its current path. Many fans know the film draws heavily from Tom King’s Woman of Tomorrow comic series. The Supergirl depicted in that series – and hinted at in the trailer – is deeply troubled, having witnessed the deaths of everyone she cared about, according to director James Gunn.

Though Craig Gillespie directed Supergirl with a script by new writer Ana Nogueira, many fans felt James Gunn’s style was very noticeable. Some on X (formerly Twitter) pointed out similarities to Gunn’s earlier Marvel movies, suggesting Supergirl felt like a remake of Guardians of the Galaxy.

That “Kryptonians of the Galaxy” trailer was underwhelming.#Supergirl

— Verbal Riot (@verbalriotshow) December 11, 2025

As a big superhero movie fan, I’ve noticed it’s been tough for films with female leads to really take off – except for Wonder Woman in 2017, which was a huge hit! Most others just haven’t seemed to connect with audiences the same way.

Girl Power at the Box Office

The trailer for Wonder Woman, released nine years ago, has been viewed 31 million times and received 264,585 likes, with around 9,959 dislikes. This is a significantly higher level of engagement compared to the Supergirl trailer, especially considering the time difference.

A more relevant comparison might be the 2023 film The Marvels. Its trailer received 26 million views, with roughly the same number of likes as dislikes. However, the movie only earned about $206 million worldwide, which was considered a box office failure.

With Superman not performing well in cinemas and Peacemaker losing viewers on streaming, the reaction to the Supergirl trailer is now a key indicator of how well the DC Universe is doing. Luckily, Supergirl isn’t due out until July 26, 2026, giving Warner Bros.’ marketing team ample time to build excitement and clearly communicate what the movie is about.

Whether that will be enough to win over a cautious audience remains to be seen.

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2025-12-20 22:57