Listen box office: Supergirl stumbles as Toy Story 5 stays No. 1

If you listen to the box office segment on Variety's Daily Variety podcast, Jack Dunn explains why Supergirl stumbled while Toy Story 5 and Michael thrived. Warner Bros.' DC tentpole missed with younger fans, Pixar held No. 1 with $70 million, and Michael crossed $977 million globally. Comcast also plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky. On the June 29 episode, reporters unpack a summer frame that exposed fresh cracks in the superhero genre while family animation and a record-breaking biopic kept theaters humming.

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Key Takeaways

• Supergirl opened to roughly $37 million domestically and $67 million globally, well below expectations for a $170 million DC tentpole.
• Toy Story 5 earned $70 million in its second weekend, reaching $297 million domestic and $585 million worldwide after 12 days.
• Michael surpassed Oppenheimer with $977 million globally, becoming the highest-grossing biopic ever.
• Comcast plans a tax-free spin-off of NBCUniversal and Sky, with Mike Cavanagh leading the media company and Michael Angelakis heading the remaining broadband and tech business.
• Variety's Jack Dunn says superhero storytelling needs a shake-up, pointing to October's Clayface as a potential genre experiment.

Why Did Supergirl Stumble at the Box Office?

According to Variety box office reporter Jack Dunn on Daily Variety, Supergirl simply did not resonate with enough younger fans in their social feeds to drive a big opening weekend. The film is part of a larger problem around superhero movies, where audiences have grown weary of familiar formulas.

The numbers back that up. Supergirl debuted to a disappointing $37.1 million from 3,600 North American theaters and $67 million globally, below Sunday's $38 million estimate. That is a steep drop from last summer's Superman reboot, which opened to $125 million domestically.

Dunn sees a certain sameness in blockbuster storytelling and argues the genre needs a big shake-up. He points to DC's October release Clayface, which he says offers a new lens through body horror, as a test of whether the studio can experiment beyond the last 15 years of cape-and-cowl conventions.

How Did Toy Story 5 and Michael Perform?

Neither Supergirl nor Jackass: Best and Last came close to dethroning Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5, which ruled again with $70 million in its second weekend. That marks a standard 55% decline from its huge $160 million debut, with domestic totals reaching $297 million and global receipts hitting $585 million after just 12 days in theaters.

Meanwhile, Antoine Fuqua's Michael continued its remarkable theatrical run. The Jaafar Jackson-led biopic has grossed $977 million worldwide, surpassing Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer ($975 million) as the highest-grossing biopic of all time. It also ranks as the biggest musical biopic ever, ahead of Bohemian Rhapsody.

Why Is Comcast Splitting NBCUniversal and Sky?

On the same Daily Variety episode, business editor Todd Spangler unpacked Comcast's Monday announcement that it plans to separate NBCUniversal and European satcaster Sky into a standalone publicly traded company. The remaining Comcast entity will focus on cable, broadband and technology assets.

Spangler explains the move is largely about boosting Comcast's stock price, which has been weighed down for years. The news sent shares up as much as 9% in early trading before settling at a 4.5% gain by day's end. Mike Cavanagh will serve as CEO of NBCUniversal and Sky, while former CFO Michael Angelakis will lead the slimmed-down Comcast under chairman Brian Roberts.

On a conference call, Cavanagh said the company had changed its mind about keeping the businesses together, arguing they can spread their wings with different financial underpinnings. Roberts insisted the split is not about positioning for M&A, though Spangler notes Comcast bid on Warner Bros. assets last year. The tax-free spin-off is expected to close in roughly 12 months.

Listen to the full breakdown on Variety's Daily Variety podcast via iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other platforms.