The Flash Is On Pace To Be A Massive Flop
The Flash is on pace to be a historical flop with an estimated $55 million opening weekend.
Once believed to be the DCEU’s savior, The Flash is starting to slow down its pace and is on target to become a massive flop. According to Deadline, the film is far behind its original projected earnings, with current estimates pointing towards a $60 million haul during its opening weekend – something the studio is hoping will grow to $70 million by the weekend’s close. Given that the big-budget multi-verse hopping action flick dropped $200 million during production, these numbers are sure to have James Gunn, Peter Safran, and the rest of the top dogs of DC Studios shaking in their boots.
To better get a handle on how devastating this could be to the superhero-centered studio, an opening weekend of $60 million is a devastating blow with films like Aquaman, Black Adam, Justice League, and others beating The Flash with one arm – or leg, or fin – tied behind their back. The studio’s biggest weekend blockbuster so far was 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice which clocked in over $166 million during its first few days in theaters and is sitting with over $330 million in the years since. Even though it’s off to a rough start, the Ezra Miller-led film could end up aging like a fine wine like 2017’s Wonder Woman, which holds the record of the studio’s top earner with a lifetime gross of over $412 million.
For many, The Flash was considered the title that would help restore DC Studios to greatness and help it keep up with its biggest competition around – Marvel. Marvel’s already had a sensational year at the box office with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania raking in the big bucks (compared to the DCEU, even if it was an MCU disappointment) and the final film in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. There’s also Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which is gobbling up the competition at the ticket stands week after week.
For DC, putting a multiverse spin on their latest project was the way to keep up with the MCU, which has, for several years now, been jumping all around the timeline and through various universes and realities. Taking a page from their comic competitors, The Flash sees the titular superhero, also known as Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), on a race through time to stop the life-changing event of his mother’s murder. But he soon finds that getting his wish granted means that another reality will come crashing down.
Bringing in the big guns for what’s been touted as an epic journey across the multiverse, DC confirmed a slew of cameo appearances from Michael Keaton’s Batman from the Tim Burton films of yesteryear to Michael Shannon’s previously defeated General Zod and even the Superman that never was – Nicolas Cage. Director Andrés Muschietti told fans that there were even more surprises for those who came to see the film on the big screen, further fanning the flames of excitement.
Unfortunately, even the promise of Sasha Calle as Supergirl doesn’t seem to be helping The Flash’s box office performance, as the numbers are incredibly far off from what was expected. Still, there’s time for Ezra Miller and the rest of the team to charge toward the finish line full steam ahead. For those who have a long weekend, it may be the perfect time to catch DC’s latest superhero film on the big screen and add to its global box office totals.
