Box office failures are a staple in the film industry, but every so often, a movie tanks so badly that it causes one to wonder whether Hollywood is drastically misjudging the country’s pulse and interests. James Gunn’s Supergirl, which follows in the footsteps of the same director’s Superman film from last year (which did well), made $37 million on its opening weekend, falling well below projections; the more shocking statistic, though, is the movie’s 73% drop in revenue the following weekend in which it pulled in just under $10 million. Derek Gibbs writes,

That makes Supergirl roughly the third-worst second-weekend superhero drop in modern history. It fell harder than Black Adam (-59%), Madame Web (-61%), and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (-69%). When your movie’s trajectory is being compared to Morbius and The Flash, the diagnosis writes itself.

The new movie Young Washington from Angel Studios out-competed Supergirl in its first weekend at the box office, making around $21 million, exceeding its budget. Ian Miller writes,

Unsurprisingly, “Young Washington” has received middling reviews from critics, but has an exceptional 92% positive audience score. With word of mouth that positive, could “Young Washington,” a little-known, barely marketed film with a low budget, outgross “Supergirl” at the domestic box office when all is said and done?

We’ve seen a number of Hollywood flicks land flat like this at the box office, which suggests that maybe American audiences are actually interested in more optimistic and patriotic stories, which, following this country’s 250th anniversary, certainly makes sense.