Collectible theater merchandise has become one of Hollywood's stranger marketing battlegrounds, and this week, it found a new champion nobody asked for.
A drink cup released by Mexican theater chain Cinépolis was designed to look like Kara Zor-El's blue superhero costume with her coat draped over the top. In theory, it was a faithful tribute to the character's look in the upcoming DC Studios film Supergirl. In practice, the flesh-colored jacket quickly went viral on social media because of its unfortunate resemblance to a foreskin.
AMC also released a similar souvenir cup based on Supergirl in her trench coat as part of its own promotional lineup. The jokes spread fast, and eventually someone at Entertainment Tonight was brave enough to put the cup in front of two of the DCU's biggest stars. "I don't like that one bit," David Corenswet said, before adding, "I don't understand, and I don't think I want it explained." Nicholas Hoult, clearly more amused, joked, "I need a lot of those." When Hoult began to say, "It reminds me of..." Corenswet cut him off with a quick, "No, no no no no."
Hoult had apparently seen the cup before, laughing at being asked about it, while Corenswet appeared to be reacting for the first time. The exchange racked up over a million views on X within hours.
The design sits in a growing lineage of suggestive blockbuster merchandise. Dune: Part Two kicked off the trend with its infamous sandworm popcorn bucket in 2024, and studios have leaned into the spectacle ever since. Even Supergirl's own Lobo popcorn bucket, featuring Jason Momoa's character on his Spacehog bike, drew attention for being so detailed it could barely hold any popcorn.
The cup's viral moment arrives during a bumpy press cycle for the film. Milly Alcock told Variety, "If you're p---ing the right kind of people off, you're doing OK," a comment that drew intense online debate alongside other remarks about her character's identity. Separately, premiere footage showed Corenswet stepping between Alcock and a photographer who made contact with the actress's back on the blue carpet in Brooklyn. Some suggested Corenswet overreacted, while others praised the instinct.
Directed by Craig Gillespie, Supergirl is the second big release in James Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted DC Universe. Alcock, best known for playing young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, leads a cast that includes Momoa, Eve Ridley, and Matthias Schoenaerts. Box office tracking has trended downward in recent weeks, with projections now hovering around $40 million for the domestic opening. That figure would land well below last year's Superman, which debuted to $125 million domestically.
The film hits North American theaters and IMAX on June 26, with international rollout beginning two days earlier. Corenswet and Hoult will reprise their roles in the 2027 sequel Man of Tomorrow. Whether the cup ends up as a footnote or a collector's item likely depends on how the movie itself performs. Either way, Cinépolis made an impression.
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