Highlights
- Blue Beetle is expected to be the next box office flop for DC movies, following a string of unsuccessful releases.
- The film's lack of marketing, actor promotion, and superhero fatigue among fans contribute to low audience anticipation.
- Blue Beetle's potential success lies in being the first film starring a Latin American superhero, which may find a bigger audience outside the United States. Its lower budget also increases the chances of turning a profit.
Blue Beetle is expected to be the fourth box office flop in a row for DC movies, but don’t count the movie out just yet. DC films have had a rough run at the box office recently and Blue Beetle looks like it will be the next victim.
Black Adam seems successful compared to these other films, earning $168 million at the domestic box office and $393 million worldwide. However, with a large production and marketing budget the film still ended up losing money. Shazam: Fury of the Gods earned a measly $57 million domestically and $133 million worldwide. The Flash is the most recent box office flop, making $107 million domestically and $267 million worldwide.
Analysts at Box Office Pro expect Blue Beetle to earn between $27 million and $55 million in its entire domestic run. This would be less than Shazam Fury of the Gods and could even make less than The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984, the former was only in theaters for three days while both were released amid the Covid-19 pandemic and released on HBO Max the same day as their theatrical release.
Blue Beetle does not have much going for it in terms of the domestic box office. It's a lesser-known superhero, especially compared to The Flash and Batman. Additionally, the film has had very little marketing and with the actors’ strike currently going on none of the actors are allowed to promote the film either. On top of all that, with “superhero fatigue” and fans being disappointed by previous DC films there is not too much excitement for their upcoming slate of films by the general audience.
One thing that Blue Beetle will have that can help it succeed in the box office, is that it is the first film to star a latin american superhero. Although there are no predictions yet, the film is expected to do well outside the United States and especially in Latin America. Blue Beetle also has the third lowest budget for a DC film at $120 million, only higher than Birds of Prey ($82 million) and Shazam ($85 million). The film has not spent too much money on marketing so if it has a big enough audience worldwide the film could end up being profitable.
It does not look good for Blue Beetle at the domestic box office and subsequently could affect Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s box office success as well. However, with a much smaller budget and a wider international audience, the film still has a small chance to be a financial success.
Blue Beetle releases in theaters on August 18th, 2023
Source: Box Office Pro