The Flash is one of the greatest superhero movies ever made, according to James Gunn, but unfortunately for Warner Bros. and the newly minted DC Studios chief, many moviegoers haven’t actually bothered to speed to their nearest theater to figure out whether that’s true or not. As highlighted in a new report from Variety, The Flash, which sees the return of Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, only grossed $55 million in the U.S. and Canada when it opened last week, a disappointing figure that has led some industry veterans to call the new film from director Andy Muschietti an “unmitigated disaster.” Warner Bros. released a final trailer for the The Flash last month that showcased the return of Michael Keaton as Batman, but it also killed the hype for some fans, revealing what appeared to be terrible CG.
From a Variety report:
“The Flash” is the second of four mega-budgeted DC adaptations the studio is set to release this year, starting with “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” in March, and followed by “Blue Beetle” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” in August and December. Yet these movies were conceived and greenlit by an executive team that all have departed the studio; in their place, new DC Studios chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran have announced they will reboot the DC franchise in 2025, starting with Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy.”
Indeed, things have not been going well. The production budgets and likely marketing spends for these four films will cost between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion in total, according to experts outside the studio. But “Shazam! 2” has already bombed, earning a feeble $133 million globally. And “The Flash” just opened to a mere $55 million in the U.S. and Canada, grossing $135.7 million worldwide as of June 19 — well under expectations, and nowhere near what a film of this caliber and cost needs to approach breaking even.
“The movie should be opening at $120 million domestic,” says an industry veteran who’s worked on many major campaigns. “This is an unmitigated disaster.” (A spokesperson for Warner Bros. declined to comment.)
Discussion (19 replies)
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Good! Maybe we'll get back to actual movies again. Fingers crossed.
Superhero movies have gotten so bad as of late that I am super cautious about watching any of them. I wait for reviews, etc. to come in from people who aren't part of the normal shill media. If trusted sources say a film is decent, I'll give it a shot.
I thank the heavens every time superhero movies crash. Its time. Its been enough.
I admit that I had hope for this one at the beginning but as time went on that diminished. It's never a good sign when a movie is consistently pushed back multiple times. I know there were different reasons for this one, pandemic, HBO/Warner Zaslav/Gunn carnage, etc. but still, it's never a good sign.
I watched the Flash series for a while on Netflix, but got bored after a couple seasons, was always more of the same so this does not interest me in the least.
Same for me. Just like I was mentioning about the Shazaam movies, it was true to the campiness of the comics but not my thing although I could at least respect it. Still didn't watch it much, occassionally some their Crysis Infinite stuff, but that was about it. This will definitely be a wait until streams and even then might not make it through the whole movie type of thing.
If we forget the superhero part, this still rings true. I mean when was the last truly epic movie you seen? No, Top Gun Maverick doesn't count, it is just what an honest day in the office should look like for hollywood as far as I'm concerned.
You make a really solid point. The D&D movie was for me but I fully admit that's because I'm a table top gaming nerd and fan of the IP. It only had to not suck to be an unmitigated success for me.
But going back... considering everything... and adding in content that felt new and original...
Lord of the Rings... and The Matrix.
Other good ones and ones I want. I REALLY want to see someone dive into a Robin Williams biopic. I enjoyed biopics of music or stars I like.
Hummm.. DUNE was really good in my book new and original not the Scy-Fy bullshit.
hummm... there are others I just suck so hard at names. Oh yea Almost Famous was really good!
But that's more fluff I suppose it depends on the types of movies that resonate with you.
I have not seen the D&D movie, probably because I was never into tabletop gaming I thought it would be of no interest to me.
I tried thinking and the newest movie movie I could think about that I really liked was Man From Unkle. There were a few other decent ones, but nothing that stands out, in fact I can't name another movie from the 2010s, let alone 2020s, that would have been memorable to me.
I have a lot of favorite movies going back to the 1950s, all the way to the 90s, then it just tapers off.
I think the 1984 Dune is a masterpiece, I'd not change a single thing about it. It is epic from beginning to end. The modern remake tells the exact same story, well half of it at least, but it doesn't make me feel anything. I can't even say it is bad, it just is. It can't justify its existence to me.
DC still struggles with making good movies. Doesn't surprise me another one of their attempts have failed.
Outside of Batman and Superman, I believe the only worth-while movie they've done recently was the Wonder Woman movies.
Meh the second one was quite crappy. Only that the bad guy actor saved it.
I liked the first Wonder Woman, but I haven't mustered the courage to watch the second one yet. I heard too many terrible things.
Yeah, most "part 2" of any movie sucks compared to the first. Nothing new here. Just the fact that DC was able to accomplish a good "part one" was the winner here.
I enjoyed the first Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman 1984 was a protracted snoozefest. It was Wonder Woman without the Wonder, quite literally for most of the movie as I recall.