The Flash has surpassed Ryan Reynolds’ disastrous Green Lantern as the biggest superhero box office flop of all time. The depth of The Flash’s failure is shocking given that it was billed as the best DC film in recent years. Stars such as Tom Cruise and Stephen King hailed it as the best superhero film they’d ever seen. However, one has to wonder if they saw a different film
The Flash, which has a $300 million budget, was meant to wrap up the extremely contentious DCEU. While introducing Peter Safran and James Gunn’s new DCU, which begins with Superman: Legacy in 2025. All of these factors were poised to set it up for box office success. However, the film failed to win the public over and ultimately flopped.
The Flash, is leaving theaters and heading to streaming with $10 million less than Green Lantern, which grossed only $106 million domestically. But, the Flash’s foreign earnings of $158 million bring its total to $263 million, putting it slightly ahead of Green Lantern’s $219 million. However, this is the third DC film in a row to be a disappointment at the Box Office with Shazam! Fury of the Gods having grossed $57 million and Black Adam grossing $168 million at the domestic box office.
To put it in perspective, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 made more than the total domestic gross for these three DC films combined, and as well as their worldwide gross. This is made worse by the fact that GOTG3 had a budget of $250 million, while the total budget of DC’s three movies is somewhere around $600 million. In essence Warner Bros. Discovery lost far more than expected with the DCEU’s runoff.
Several reasons have been given for the Flash’s poor performance. The CGI, for example, has received harsh criticism from fans. This massive backlash prompted director Andy Muschietti to explain that it was a deliberate creative decision. But his explanation wasn’t enough to please the fans. Furthermore, by integrating various multiversal characters, such as Michael Keaton’s Batman and Luke Cage’s Superman, the Flash capitalized on the nostalgia element. However, this backfired due to the absence of Grant Gustin’s Flash. Whose absence was unexplainable while most of the other cameos appeared forced. In addition, Ezra Miller’s numerous controversial actions only further alienated fans from the film.
This year will see the release of two additional DC flicks. However, based on the poor outings of Shazam! and The Flash this year. The prospects of Blue Beetle or Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom being significant box office hits are slim. Everyone seems to be waiting to see if James Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy will repair DC’s tarnished box office reputation.