Arriving at the box office with a lot of expectations, The Flash failed to capitalize on the multiverse hype train, instead becoming one of the biggest box office bombs in the superhero landscape. Opposing its $220 million budget (excluding the marketing budget), the film is set to lose WB Discovery over $200 million, the 3rd DC movie in a row failing to turn profits, including Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam.
Although there are several factors contributing to its failure, WB Discovery seems adamant about making something out of it, as the film gets a streaming release date, which breaks a frustrating DC record.
The Flash Breaks Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam and Zachary Levi’s Shazam 2 Records
Contrary to the initial release date that was slated for The Flash‘s streaming debut, 23 September, the film is now set to make its Max debut on 25 August. And in doing so, the Ezra Miller-led film has broken a frustrating DC record, as it’ll have the longest gap between a DC film’s theatrical and streaming release. Unlike Dwayne Johnson‘s Black Adam and Zachary Levi’s Shazam 2, which had a gap of 56 and 67 days respectively, there will be a 70-day gap between Andy Muschietti-led film’s streaming and theatrical debut.
With WB Discovery adamant about squeezing something out of the box-office disaster, things haven’t been smooth for the DC universe since the debacle of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam. And it seems Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle is inching towards a similar fate, as the movie had a lower opening than Morbius, even though it was objectively one of the better DC releases in years.
The Flash’s Failure Impacts the Scarlet Speedster’s Comic Book Sales
The Flash’s historic bomb at the box office is also having an adverse effect on Flash comic books, which have been regularly published for decades now. According to Matt DeVoe, who is a co-founder of CovrPrice, which keeps track of comic book sales online, the movie’s commercial and critical failure has negatively impacted Flash comic book sales too as they’ve taken a heavy blow.
“Flash books are down. Anything related to this film is kind of dropping. The Flash film didn’t have anything for fans to take and speculate on. In fact, it’s led to a lot of confusion of, ‘OK, what is DC doing with their future lineup?’” DeVoe told THR.
While Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam failure was the last nail in the coffin for the DCEU, The Flash‘s situation reflects the struggling landscape that the DCEU brand was in for years. But with James Gunn set to kickstart a new DCU, fans will hope that he’ll be the guy to bring DC back to its glory days.
The Flash will premiere on Max on 25 August 2023.
Source: Deadline
