Highlights
- Despite high expectations and its role in setting up the new line of DC projects, "The Flash" disappointed at the box office, with estimated losses nearing $200 million for Warner Bros. Discovery.
- The film's streaming debut on Max fell short of expectations, with only 1.1 million household views, compared to Black Adam's 1.2 million views in the same time frame.
- The overall negative critical reception, along with poor box office performance, contributed to "The Flash" being the biggest disappointment for the studio, despite its initial success on video-on-demand services.
The Flash has seen a disappointing debut on Warner Bros Discovery's Max streaming service, falling short of another similarly high-profile flop from the DC Extended Universe.
James Gunn confirmed The Flash was a soft reboot of the DCEU ahead of his reinvention of the franchise alongside Peter Safran. The Flash was 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.
While it was already a strong contender for the title of worst box office flop ever, the film has fallen short yet again. After The Flash's disastrous theatrical run made its box office failure look much better, Black Adam has again come out on top of the Miller-led movie as the three-day streaming numbers for The Flash's debut on streaming service Max come in at 1.1 million household views. This falls short of Black Adam, which pulled in 1.2 million households on the streamer within the same post-debut time frame, as reported by ComicBook.
The Flash stayed in theaters longer than Black 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, considering Black Adam was seen by far more people within its shorter time at the box office, it makes sense that The Flash would 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 by Black Adam or the overt praise leveled at Blue Beetle, despite both films also doing poorly at the box office.
While it initially seemed that The Flash would finally find victory beyond theaters after 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 Flash stands 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 2 has kept its release date despite 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 the Aquaman franchise being atomized and separate from the upcoming revitalized DC seems to signify a real risk of the sequel going the way of The Flash. Whether Gunn and Safran's plans will suffer any negative repercussions from the disastrous final leg of the DCEU remains to be seen.
The Flash is now available for streaming on Max.
Source: ComicBook