The Flash was supposed to be a sure thing. Warner Bros. Discovery so believed in the big solo film for Justice League member Barry Allen that they stood by Ezra Miller, its troubled star, through thick and thin — even as they pulled the plug on the nearly completed Batgirl. The film, they hoped, would help save the flailing DCEU. It was supposed to be massive. And then came opening weekend, when it was up to moviegoers to decide its fate.
They showed up alright, but not in the numbers WBD had hoped. The corporation was hoping for $70-$75 million opening weekend. As per Deadline, they got $55.1 million. For the four-day holiday weekend, the projection is only $64 million. Not even the Cinemascore is that good, with audiences giving it only a B.
What happened will be debated in the days and weeks and months to come. Perhaps Miller’s antics — running amok in Hawaii, robbery, possibly starting a cult, before finally agreeing to seek help last summer — may have done even more damage to the film’s reputation than once assumed. Perhaps few were that excited to see a Flash movie, even one that brings back an old Batman. Perhaps superhero fatigue is truly setting in.
In other news, Pixar had a rare bomb with Elemental, which only scared up $29.5 million (but which nabbed an A on Cinemascore). At least Asteroid City, the latest from Wes Anderson, had great news. Opening in only six locations, it made $790K over three days, with its four day tally estimated to be $890K. That gives it the best per-screen average since La La Land in 2016.
(Via Deadline)