Ranking Every DC Comic Book Movie - From Worst to Best

18. Supergirl (1984)

Christopher Reeve wisely decided against a cameo in this movie, which would have damaged the reputation of his big-screen Superman by association, something the increasingly poor sequels to that franchise were managing just fine on their own. Instead, his absence was explained in one line of throwaway dialogue during the course of this prime slice of 1980s cheese. As the titular hero, Helen Slater simply isn't a good enough actress to make the audience care about her corny, overly-sincere character while Jeannot Szwarc's uninspired direction tends to focus more on the comedic elements of the movie more than anything else. What could have been a knowing camp classic instead becomes an over-indulgent mess laced with poor special effects and even worse dialogue. Although Supergirl opened at the top of the domestic box office, it earned just $14m in the US as the Superman franchise continued its alarming descent into mediocrity.

17. Jonah Hex (2010)

Thomas Jane lobbied for years to be given the title role in the feature-length adaptation of Jonah Hex, and must have been awfully relieved that Josh Brolin was awarded the part instead if he had the misfortune of witnessing this poorly-constructed shambles that somehow makes an 81 minute running time drag on for an eternity. Impressively managing to completely waste a talented ensemble that also includes John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender, Will Arnett and Michael Shannon, the supernatural action Western bears all the hallmarks of studio butchery given the scattershot pacing and nonsensical plot. Jimmy Hayward was a strange choice as director given his background in animation, and only boarded the project three months before shooting by which time Jonah Hex was most likely already doomed. Unsurprisingly, the movie tanked hard and earned just $10.9m against the $47m budget.