The Flashwas being built up as the “greatest comic book movie ever” until this weekend, when it seems that things are not quite as speedy as they were made out to be. Despite the Erza Miller-led movie pulling in a decent Rotten Tomatoes score and CinemaScore of B, audiences have not exactly been flocking to see The Flash in the same way that they did for worse rated Marvel movies such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
The latest figures showThe Flashtaking a domestic gross of $24.5 million on its opening day, which puts it about $2 million behindBlack Adam. Considering that movie was seen as a complete disaster in terms of its box office result, it does not bode well forThe Flashbeingsome kind of big send off for the DCEU. Currently, the film is looking to make just $60 million domestically over the weekend, which suggests trouble ahead for bothBlue BeetleandAquaman and the Lost Kingdomlater this year.
The main problem withThe Flashjust seems to be that people have lost interest in the old DCEU, knowing that everything is going to be rebooted in a couple of years. Even a massive collection of cameos and callbacks seemingly isn’t enough to drive people into theaters, although that could be down to the fact that many of the biggest surprises of the movie were leaked ahead of its arrival in cinemas, and the rest found its way on to the internet within hours of the film debuting in theaters.
Related:Andy Muschietti Breaks Silence on Criticized “Wonky” VFX on The Flash
Can The Flash Still Be A Hit?
Like many of the recent releases from the DCEU,The Flashseemed to have so much potential to finally give the Warner Bros. Discovery the franchise hit they have been looking for. With the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman being a big hit with social media users, and the prospect ofmany multiverse cameos from DC historyand a story that was originally pitched as a reset for the franchise there should have been nothing to stopThe Flashbecoming one of the biggest movies of the year.
Of course, there is every chance that the film could still manage to pull in a decent box office over the coming weeks if some people have just decided they don’t need to see the movie instantly. Having a middling opening box office could well mean thatThe Flashdoesn’t see the same kind of second weekend drop off that other movies have suffered, but if it does see a big slump next week, then the film could really be in trouble.
What does this mean for the last two DCEU movies coming this year? It seems that ifThe Flashis unable to make a decent run a the box office, then it does not look good for the relatively unknownBlue Beetle– which we should remember was originally destined to be a MAX exclusive – andAquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a movie that comes with its own controversy around Amber Heard and the fact that the movie will be arriving as the final film of the old DCEU. If no one cares now, then will they feel any different by December?
