Summary
The Flashhas seen a disappointing debutonWarner Bros Discovery’s Max streaming service, falling short of another similarly high-profile flop from the DC Extended Universe.
James Gunn confirmedThe Flashwas a soft reboot of the DCEUahead of his reinvention of the franchise alongside Peter Safran.The Flashwas the single most anticipated film in the Snyder-led DCEU, and it seemed the most likely to succeed after the new DC Studios and DCU announcements, as it was the only project confirmed to play a role in setting up the upcoming new line of projects from the studio. Despite this, the film was mired in controversy surrounding star Ezra Miller and closed at the box office to a disappointing $268.5 million, with estimated losses for Warner Bros. Discovery nearing $200 million.
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While it was already a strong contender for the title of worst box office flop ever, the film has fallen short yet again. AfterThe Flash’s disastrous theatrical runmade its box office failure look much better,Black Adamhas again come out on top of the Miller-led movie as the three-day streaming numbers forThe Flash’s debut on streaming service Max come in at 1.1 million household views. This falls short ofBlack Adam,which pulled in 1.2 million households on the streamer within the same post-debut time frame, as reported byComicBook.
The Flashstayed in theaters longerthanBlack Adam, exceeding the Dwayne Johnson-led adventure’s 57-day tenure with a 71-day stint at the box office that set another disappointing DC record to crown a poor theatrical run. However, consideringBlack Adamwas seen by far more people within its shorter time at the box office, it makes sense thatThe Flashwould be expected to draw more streaming on Max to compensate for the lack of cinema turnout. The most likely cause seems to be the film’s generally negative critical reception, as opposed to the slightly lighter treatment received byBlack Adamor the overt praise leveled atBlue Beetle, despite both films also doing poorly at the box office.
While it initially seemed thatThe Flashwould finally find victory beyond theatersafter it took the top ranking on video-on-demand services like iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu, it appears that was a bit too optimistic, as the enthusiasm behind that wave seems to have died down. Even with the film’s success on VOD services and a premium pricing of $19.99 per purchase, a strong showing on Max would have done a lot to redeem the film both in the eyes of Warner Bros. Discovery and the general public. As it stands,The Flashstands out as the biggest disappointment for the studio due to the overall cost and its purpose as a reboot, despite others doing worse by the numbers.
Aquaman 2has kept its release datedespite ongoing strikes, which will likely prevent any of the film’s stars from promoting it or attending its premiere. This decision, the general attitude to every DCEU project released this year, and theAquamanfranchise being atomized and separate from the upcoming revitalized DC seems to signify a real risk of the sequel going the way ofThe Flash.Whether Gunn and Safran’s plans will suffer any negative repercussions from the disastrous final leg of the DCEU remains to be seen.
