‘The Flash’ Finally Passes Domestic Box Office Milestone After Three Weeks in Theaters

‘The Flash’ Achieves Domestic Box Office Milestone After Three Weeks in Theaters

Warner Bros. is savoring even the smallest victories for ‘The Flash,’ as the film solidifies its position as one of the biggest box office disappointments in recent years. After 19 days of its release, the superhero movie has finally crossed a significant box office threshold, a milestone that most films of similar scale typically achieve on their opening day. Today, ‘The Flash’ joins the esteemed $100 million club at the domestic box office. To provide context, ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ raked in $84 million on its first day, while the much-criticized ‘Suicide Squad’ managed $64 million during its debut.

In the hands of director Andy Muschietti, ‘The Flash’ has garnered $101 million in the United States, accompanied by an additional $146 million from international markets. This brings its global earnings to just under $250 million, still falling short of the mark. It’s important to note that the film had a production budget exceeding $200 million, with additional millions spent on marketing. Warner Bros. spared no effort in promoting the film, but unfortunately, they underestimated a crucial factor: waning interest in the previous iteration of the DC Extended Universe.

Hailed by co-chair James Gunn as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, ‘The Flash’ made a shockingly lackluster debut last month, with disappointing box office numbers and mediocre reviews. During its opening weekend in the United States, the film could only muster $55 million, and globally, it brought in a modest $139 million. It failed to meet even the conservative projections. A recent report suggested that Warner Bros. could have mitigated their losses by not releasing the movie at all, as they did with ‘Batgirl.’ However, the studio was so pleased with the final product delivered by Muschietti that they arranged for advanced screenings to generate word-of-mouth. Unfortunately, these efforts proved futile.

Image via Warner Bros.

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Presently, audiences seem to have moved on from the DCEU, prompting Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran to plan a reboot of the franchise with ‘Superman: Legacy’ in 2025. The previous three films in the series—’Black Adam’ and ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ included—have all performed dismally. This leaves ‘Blue Beetle’ and ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ in a precarious position. These upcoming movies seem like hand-me-downs from the previous era, and it remains to be seen if fans will flock to theaters to watch them.

Misfortune Haunted This Movie Throughout

Yet, the lack of interest wasn’t the sole obstacle faced by ‘The Flash.’ The film endured a tumultuous production journey, plagued by multiple starts and stops over the years. Various directors, including Seth Grahame-Smith, Rick Famuyiwa, Jonathan Goldstein, and John Francis Daley, were associated with the project before Muschietti—fresh from the consecutive successes of ‘It’ and ‘It: Chapter Two’—took the reins. In recent months, the movie faced further negative publicity due to star Ezra Miller’s personal troubles. Miller was absent from promotional activities and made only a brief appearance at the film’s red carpet premiere. If there is a silver lining to this story, it has yet to reveal itself. ‘The Flash’ also features Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, and Michael Keaton. You can watch our interview with Muschietti here,and stay tuned to FilmSweep for more updates.

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