Lede
Supergirl tries to sell cosmic grief on the biggest screen, then spends too much of its flight feeling like a streaming pilot with better speakers.
Hermit Off Script
Supergirl should have felt special in IMAX because this is more than another superhero film. It is another studio battle wearing a cape. Instead, it opens with a crying drunk scene that still needs lessons from the most famous Korean drunk-scene school of pain, shame and public transport, and that one did not need superpowers.
Then there is Krypto. The dog is not a random studio invention because his role comes from Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the comic that inspired the film. But on screen he sometimes feels less like a character and more like the emotional invoice that keeps the plot moving. The dog gets hurt, the mission gains fuel, and everyone politely calls the machinery a bond.
Do not get me wrong. I enjoyed watching it on an IMAX screen more than I would have enjoyed watching it at home. The large screen still has a pulse. For now. But I kept feeling as though I was watching a streaming film that had borrowed an IMAX suit for a wedding. The scale says cinema. The structure keeps checking whether the next episode has loaded.
It competes in the same summer oxygen as The Mandalorian and Grogu, at a different level, and even Jason Momoa arriving like a cosmic rock star cannot stop the awkwardness from standing in the corner with a plastic cup.
The film deserves credit for creating 5 original alien languages, including Kryptonian. My issue is not the effort. It is that some worlds still feel like brief stops where the language arrives before the culture has time to breathe. The film adapts an eight-issue cosmic journey, and sometimes you can feel every issue asking for its own episode.
Overall, I would still watch it in IMAX rather than on an ordinary screen. But do not expect wonder simply because the cape is enormous. Expect grief, revenge, dog logic and several short stories compressed into a film that might have breathed better as a series.
P.S. Update – 24 July 2026:
The film has now earned approximately USD 121.9 million worldwide against a reported USD 170 million production budget. Its second domestic weekend fell 77 per cent, and home video is listed for 28 July, only 32 days after the North American cinema release. Ticket sales are not profit, but the quick journey home makes the IMAX-versus-streaming joke rather less theoretical.
Maybe the real villain is the future screen. Galaxy XR is already on sale in the UK with a personal Micro-OLED display and enough quoted video battery life to finish the film. It still costs GBP 1,699 and straps the equipment to your face, so the cinema has not lost yet. But the living room no longer needs to whisper.
The cape can fill a cathedral. The story still has to earn the room.
Supergirl (2026) | Official Trailer
Movie synopsis
After the ruthless Krem of the Yellow Hills attacks Ruthye Marye Knoll’s family, the young alien seeks Supergirl’s help in pursuing him across the galaxy. Kara reluctantly joins the mission, accompanied by Krypto, and travels through unfamiliar worlds while confronting grief, anger and the difference between justice and revenge. The film adapts the comic series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely.
Cast and credits
Director: Craig Gillespie
Writer: Ana Nogueira, based on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely
Genre: Science-fiction action adventure and drama
Main cast: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet and Jason Momoa
Composer: Claudia Sarne
Production company/studio: DC Studios, Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company; distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Runtime: 108 minutes
UK rating: 12A for moderate violence, threat and language
Release year and platform: Released in UK cinemas on 26 June 2026, including IMAX, 3D and ScreenX; home video scheduled for 28 July 2026
What does not make sense
- An eight-issue cosmic road story is squeezed into 108 minutes, then asked to behave like one smooth cinematic event.
- Krypto comes from the source comic, but the film sometimes makes him carry more plot machinery than personality.
- The production created 5 original alien languages, yet some of the worlds disappear before their cultures become more than decoration.
- The film rents IMAX scale while much of its rhythm still feels shaped by episodic streaming.
- Jason Momoa arrives with enough energy for another film, then leaves the existing one to continue assembling itself.
- A reported USD 170 million production opened with USD 37.1 million domestically and dropped 77 per cent during its second weekend.
- Home video is scheduled only 32 days after the North American cinema release, which does little to teach audiences that the cinema window matters.
- A GBP 1,699 headset can now offer a private Micro-OLED screen, while cinema still relies on the story to make sharing the room worthwhile.
Sense check / The numbers
- Supergirl opened in UK cinemas on 26 June 2026. The BBFC lists the cinema, IMAX, 3D and ScreenX versions at 107 minutes and 56 seconds with a 12A classification. [BBFC]
- The film adapts the 8-issue Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series and includes 5 original alien languages, including Kryptonian. [DC] [Variety]
- The Numbers lists a reported USD 170 million production budget and approximately USD 121.9 million in worldwide ticket sales as of 23 July 2026. [The Numbers]
- Its domestic opening weekend was USD 37.1 million. The second weekend earned USD 8.6 million, a decline of 77 per cent. [The Numbers]
- Samsung Galaxy XR became available in the UK in July 2026 from GBP 1,699, with a Micro-OLED display and up to 2.5 hours of quoted video playback. [Samsung]
The sketch
Scene 1: The drunk opening
A huge IMAX screen shows a tiny caped figure crying beside a glowing alien bar. In the front row, a Korean romcom ghost holds a notebook marked “drunk scene basics”.
Dialogue:
Supergirl: “This is grief.”
Romcom ghost: “Needs better collapse.”
IMAX: “I only sell scale.”
Scene 2: The dog paperwork
A superhero dog sits at a desk while studio executives queue with forms. One form says “emotional motivation”. Another says “brand continuity”.
Dialogue:
Executive: “Can the dog carry Act 2?”
Dog: “I am not your spreadsheet.”
Plot: “Too late.”
Scene 3: The cinema helmet
A cinema palace stands beside a person wearing a large XR headset. The theatre has a cape over its roof and a ticket booth shaped like a begging bowl.
Dialogue:
Cinema: “I am the big experience.”
Headset: “I brought the big screen home.”
Audience: “Who has the better story?”
What to watch, not the show
- Whether superhero films still earn IMAX by design, or simply rent it as prestige wallpaper.
- Whether studios keep using pets as shortcut machinery for grief, danger and instant audience affection.
- Whether streaming habits are now shaping theatrical films so hard that even IMAX cannot hide the episode seams.
- Whether headsets, Micro-OLED screens and private 4K viewing make mid-tier spectacle harder to justify in cinemas.
- Whether connected universes are creating films that feel less like stories and more like brand admin.
- Whether cinema survives by being larger, or by being better.
The Hermit take
IMAX gives the cape a cathedral.
The story still feels built from episodes.
Keep or toss
Verdict: Keep / Toss.
Keep Milly Alcock, the cosmic mood and IMAX scale.
Toss the compressed structure and the way Krypto carries too much emotional freight.
Sources
- Official film synopsis, cast and credits: https://www.dc.com/movies/supergirl-2026
- Warner Bros. official film page: https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/supergirl2026
- BBFC UK runtime, formats and classification: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/supergirl-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmte3ntc3
- Official comic source: https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/supergirl-woman-of-tomorrow-2021/supergirl-woman-of-tomorrow
- DC confirmation of the adaptation: https://www.dc.com/blog/2026-06-29/rounding-up-the-easter-eggs-in-supergirl
- Current box office and reported budget: https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Supergirl-%282026%29
- Five original alien languages: https://variety.com/2026/film/news/supergirl-cinemacon-footage-milly-alcock-learned-5-alien-languages-training-1236352564/
- Galaxy XR UK release: https://news.samsung.com/uk/galaxy-xr-is-available-to-buy-now-in-the-uk
- Galaxy XR display and battery details: https://www.samsung.com/uk/xr/galaxy-xr/galaxy-xr-silver-shadow-sm-i610nzsaeub/
