Warner Bros./DC Studios had great faith in The Flash with James Gunn and others declaring it was one of the best comic book movies ever. In fact, director Andy Muschietti has already landed the plum job to helm Batman: The Brave and the Bold, one of the linchpins of the new DC Universe.
That’s why it was decided to keep The Flash as a theatrical release and not only that, to set it up as a major summer tentpole. The studio screened it at Cinema Con, where it got a great reaction, but maybe that was due to the fact that everyone that saw it was doing so before anyone else. The Flash was also released for advanced fan and influencer screenings. But that may have been the downfall.
Once professional reviews started rolling out… well, let’s just say The Flash is clearly NOT one of the best comic book movies of all time. Its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer is a lackluster 67% and its audience score is 86%. Exiting audiences were in line with those on RT, with a B CinemaScore and 77% via PostTrak. The audience scores aren’t that bad, but they’re not exactly glowing.
Once the numbers are crunched, it is expected that The Flash will make $55.1M over three days. In the U.S., Monday is a federal holiday, Juneteenth, and at the end of that day, it is expected that The Flash will have a four-day opening of $64M.
At least this is better than Shazam!: Fury of the Gods which tanked with a $30.5M opening. But this falls below the opening of Black Adam, which opened with $67M, the best solo opening of Dwayne Johnson’s career, but that went on to tank over the long haul.
There are many factors that could explain The Flash‘s weak performance in addition to the blah reviews. Obviously, Ezra Miller‘s controversies probably scared some away, but I’m not sure how aware the general public is about those. It could simply be that Ezra Miller just isn’t a big enough star.
There is also the fact that, not only has DC’s track record been kind of terrible with a few standout successes like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, but we all know that this current iteration of the DCEU is coming to an end to be relaunched with the Gods and Monsters era. Some people have just checked out and don’t care about these last few releases.
The writers’ guild strike also plays a role, as all of the talk shows and programs like Saturday Night Live are shut down, so neither Muscietti nor the cast were able to promote the film on a national level.
Then again, WB/DC isn’t the only studio struggling as Marvel, who once reigned supreme when it came to these types of pictures, has also had quite a few disappointments in the last few years. Though many scoff at the concept of “superhero fatigue,” maybe it’s time to really take this seriously. Maybe people are really just sick of comic book flicks.
There’s bad news to go around. Disney/Pixar’s Elemental was supposed to prove that Pixar movies deserved to be released to theaters after some were unceremoniously dumped on Disney+, but this absolutely does not accomplish that. Its $29.5M three-day opening places it behind last year’s Lightyear which opened with $50.5M and went on to be a flop. Elemental even opened lower than Onward which premiered to $39.1M and that was during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic! In fact, it even debuted lower than The Good Dinosaur, another notorious bomb that took in $39.1M and that was in 2015 and the price is not adjusted for inflation. Over four days, Elemental is eyed to make $33.3M.
Critically, Elemental is neck-and-neck with The Flash with a 76% RT score. But audiences actually really liked it with a 92% score. Via CinemaScore, exiting audiences gave it an A, while PostTrak audiences gave it 85%.
Last week’s #1, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts took a major tumble, down 67% to $20M over three days and $23M over four. That means it dropped to #4 below Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which it initially dethroned. The acclaimed animated picture only dropped 50% from last week for a three-day of $27.8M, and a four-day of $32.4M.
The continued success of Across the Spider-Verse could be a contributing factor for Elemental‘s lack of success as a lot of families are still checking that picture out.
The Little Mermaid continues to tread water at #5 with a three-day of $11.6M and a four-day of $13.3M. Once again, this may have contributed to Elemental‘s weak performance.
You can see all of the numbers below:
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- The Flash (Warner Bros.) – 3-day $55.1M/ 4-day $64M/ Wk 1
- Elemental (Disney/Pixar) – 3-day $29.5M/ 4-day $33.3M/ Wk 1
- Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse (Sony) – 3-day $27.8M/ 4-day $32.4M/ Total $285M/ Wk 3
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount) – 3-day $20M/ 4-day $23M/ Total $103.6M/ Wk 2
- The Little Mermaid (Disney) – 3 day $11.6M/ 4-day $13.3M/ Total $255.2M/ Wk 4
While next week finally sees the end of the onslaught of major tentpoles, at least for a minute, there will be a couple of different films that may appeal to those looking for a break from the blockbusters. First, there is the Jennifer Lawrence-starring comedy No Hard Feelings. Also releasing is Wes Anderson’s quirky new comedy Asteroid City.
After that, it’s back to the tentpoles with the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. However, similarly to WB and The Flash, Disney chose to screen this picture early and… maybe they shouldn’t have. Following its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, Dial of Destiny is sitting at a pretty terrible 55% on RT.
On top of another could-be blockbuster, Universal is unleashing yet another animated family movie, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Will it open better than Elemental? We’ll see!
What are you looking forward to checking out?
