The Flash Box Office: From Ezra Miller's Controversies to Constant Delays, 5 Major Reasons Why the DC Film is Failing to Find Success Worldwide

The case of The Flash is a very curious one. From some insane marketing to constant publicity (good or bad – it doesn’t matter), it looked like this would be the hit that would bring DC back into the game, at least from a monetary perspective, but after its first weekend, it looks like the film might be grossing even less than Black Adam. It truly is a baffling because of just how much pre-release buzz The Flash had going on. The Flash Movie Review: Ezra Miller’s DC Film is a Wild, Crowd-Pleasing Concoction of Fun, Chaos and Messy CGI (LatestLY Exclusive).

Having earned $136 million worldwide so far on an estimated budget of $220 million, The Flash would have to make about $440 million just to break even and cover the marketing costs, and then some to turn a profit. Falling way behind expectations, however, it doesn’t look like The Flash will be able to do that, and there certainly are a whole heap of causes behind it. So, lets dive deep into exactly why The Flash isn’t able to find success worldwide and the factors that might have played into it.

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Audiences Perspective of the DCEU

The Flash is one of the remaining few entries in the DCEU and the franchise hasn’t really been received that well by the audiences in the last few years in both: a commercial and a critical perspective. Aside from The Batman which became a huge hit and opened to acclaim, most of the other DC films outside of that have found it a bit difficult to find a positive word of mouth, and in response the box office also really hasn’t been strong. While its not really that big of a reason, it definitely should be taken into consideration.

Constant Delays

The Flash’s development timeline would require a whole different article to itself, and the constant delays the film has suffered is definitely a part of the reason. Originally slated for a 2018 release, The Flash would then be constantly delayed as creatives would constantly come and leave with leadership changes at Warner Bros not helping as well. The final nail in the coffin would then come when The Flash would once again move from its fixed July, 2022, release to June, 2023, and at that point audiences would have probably lost their interest in a Flash movie.

Failing to Meet the Mark

Before the release of The Flash, it was pretty much being heralded as perhaps the best superhero movie of all time. From having an early screening at CinemaCon to Tom Cruise of all people praising it, the response was overwhelmingly positive… until the reviews hit that is. As of now, The Flash holds a 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes with a “B” CinemaScore from the audience. Perhaps the word of mouth wasn’t really as positive as one might have expected it to be.

Everyone Saw it Before Release

The Flash would hold fan-first screenings in major cities before its worldwide release on June 16, 2023, and many people had already had their fill of the film; some even watched the movie twice. That strategy pretty much came to back bite Warner Bros as opening their film this early to masses meant not many wanting to return back and watch the film. It certainly shows because the box office is taking a massive hit right now.

Ezra Miller’s Controversies

Prior to shooting the film as well, actor Ezra Miller embroiled himself in a controversy where the actor was caught on video and seen choking a woman and throwing her down. This certainly set off many bells, however the heat online did die down only for it to be picked up back again after filming wrapped. From causing chaos in Hawaii to allegations of grooming, kidnapping and assault, Miller has garnered an infamous reputation. So, maybe people just don’t want to support a film that has a lead with so many cases against them. It certainly did affect the good faith The Flash could have at least had. Lord Hanuman in The Flash! Picture of Hindu God Seen Hanging in Ezra Miller's DC Superhero Film, Leaves Indian Fans Surprised! (View Pic).

While an argument could be made that the announcement of the new DC film slate from James Gunn could have hurt the movie a bit, it doesn’t really play into the narrative overall as general audiences at the end of the day just want to be entertained. The Flash already had many cards stacked against it, and taking all these factors into play, one can clearly assume that it wasn’t going to be a smooth release no matter what. Thankfully, The Flash is out and about, and now we can just look forward to the next and hopefully a coherent phase of DC films.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 20, 2023 05:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).