The Flash was released worldwide on June 16, 2023, to lukewarm critic and audience reception due to which the film scored an underwhelming opening weekend of $55 million in its domestic market i.e. USA and Canada, lower than DCEU's October release Black Adam which opened at $67 million and a global weekend of $130 million while the Dwayne Johnson starrer minted $140 million despite worse reviews than The Flash and an October release. In India, the film could only collect 16.90 crores nett in its extended first weekend which is even though the 6th highest for a Hollywood film this year in India but more was expected due to the superhero genre and high presence in premium screens like IMAX and 4DX. These are surely dismal numbers for a film this expensive and the season it has released in which is due to these five reasons which are as follows.
SUPERHERO FATIGUE
Admit it or not, the fatigue for the genre is real which is evident in the diminishing numbers for the genre which once used to be the breadwinner for Hollywood. The genre has seen only two movies winning this year both critically and commercially i.e. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse out of the five films that released so far. Out of these two, the former got a comparatively slow opening considering the first two films were major hits but positive critical and audience reception propelled it to score more than $800 million worldwide while the latter is sitting at almost $500 million worldwide on a relatively meagre production cost of $100 million. The repetitive nature of the genre along with the over-exposure and subpar quality of many recent products of its leading franchise, Marvel Cinematic Universe, has led to audiences getting tired of seeing another superhero film every month.
EZRA MILLER
The leading actor of the film Ezra Miller has been embroiled in many controversies and has a long criminal rapsheet behind them such as grooming a minor, physical assault, harassment, disorderly conduct, unlawful tresspassing and the list goes on for eternity. As we live in an era of cancel culture where the general public withdraws support for a public figure for the most human mistakes, supporting an actual criminal and tolerating their face for a long 2.5 hours was not a feasible option for many. The actor has been going through vigorous treatment for their mental health issues but that still doesn't give enough trust to the public to supporrt them. Many abstained from paying for the film to watch it on the big screen due to the leading face being so problematic which could've been much better with someone else as the titular character.
COMPETITIVE SUMMER PERIOD
The Summer period is always competitive for Hollywood with cutthroat competition for every big-budget film every week or two. Ever since May started, every Friday except 12th May has seen a new big-budget release costing more than $100 million dollars and snatching away premium screens which are well-collecting even though are limited in number. Out of the six blockbuster films released since 5th May, only two of them seen either exceeding or living up to expectations all over the flobe i.e. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The other four i.e. Fast X, The Little Mermaid, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and The Flash have seen disappointing results in many major markets with Fast X performing with disaster results domestically and failing to make up for that with extraordinary overseas box office and The Little Mermaid tanking miserably in mjaor markets for Disney films like China, South Korea and India despite a good performance in the domestic market. In the post-pandemic streaming era, a normal filmgoer just can't afford or find it feasible to watch movies on the big screen every week thus making them selective about the films they pay for, which is a good thing if we want more quality cinema in the future. This selectiveness is pretty clear with movies flopping left and right in every industry in this world and with Hollywood being the biggest film industry in the world, the lack of originality in the big-budget films along with lazy attempts of milking dead franchises has surely dented the box office.
The Flash movie review: A lifeless cash grab
MIXED RECEPTION TO THE FRANCHISE
The DC Extended Universe has seen mixed results both critically and commercially with majority of their films being loss-making ventures for Warner Bros. Pictures, even the well-received films like Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad proving to be flops due to their niche appeal and bad timing of release. With this being an attempt at providing something exciting to the disinterested audiences who didn't show up for Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods in big numbers, the studio tried to lure them in by exaggerated early reviews from prolific names like Tom Cruise and the future head of the studio, James Gunn and keeping Michael Keaton's Batman in the forefront of every promotional. material of the film. The franchise has failed to excite moviegoers due to a botched timeline it was aiming to create like its competing franchise which got more audience even for unknown characters like Shang-Chi and Eternals with no presence from other characters than a Flash movie with heavy presence of Batman, who is a household name.
SUBPAR QUALITY OF THE FILM
The film has not been appreciated by both critics and audiences, the latter giving it a B CinemaScore which is the lowest ever for the franchise in history. The major gripes for the film have been the poor visual effects and the overdose of humour due to which many of the audience members couldn't enjoy the film to its full potential. The audiences also got a superior film from the same superhero multiverse genre in the form of Across The Spider-Verse just two weeks before this film, which raised inevitable comparisons between both the films. The future of the film's box office prospects look bleak due to the mixed reception which ensures a low lifetime total lower than last year's Black Adam which was a costlier film and a box office bomb too.
Overall, The Flash is the final nail in the coffin of the ongoing DC Extended Universe as it was the franchise's most hyped project in a very long time and it still couldn't deliver both critically and commercially. Warner Bros has Margot Robbie's Barbie as their next big release on 21 July, clashing with Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer but with that being a cheaper film and a better-looking one too for a section of audiences which has been mostly neglected this Summer period barring The Little Mermaid, it will surely bring in a much-needed hit for the studio if received well. The DC Extended Universe has Blue Beetle as their next release on 18 August which has little to no buzz alongside starring an obscure character but it can surely spring in a surprise due to its Latin representation and fairly higher entertainment value compared to everything releasing that month.