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Warner Bros’ ambitious attempt at rebooting the DC Extended Universe, this week’s big-budget superhero spectacle The Flash, isn’t quite performing as well as the studio would’ve liked. The film grossed $24.5 million on Friday, for an estimated debut weekend haul of $60 million. This is actually a step-down from the $26.8 million that Black Adam grossed on its opening day late last year, and we all know how that film turned out. But at least The Flash beat Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($11.7 million).
The film’s $24.5 million haul is still a far cry from the kind of numbers that these movies were generating during the franchise’s heyday. By comparison, Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice made $56 million and $81 million on their respective opening days. The Flash was projected to gross a little over $70 million in its opening weekend, which itself was a rather low total for a film this size. A lot is riding on the movie, and W.B. had several obstacles to overcome in the weeks and months leading up to its release. Not only did star Ezra Miller’s personal troubles invite negative press, but the dwindling interest in the series wasn’t helping either. To communicate The Flash’s must-watch qualities, the studio began building buzz around it weeks in advance, securing glowing blurbs from the likes of Stephen King and Tom Cruise, not to mention the hype that co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn, was regularly building on social media and the tantalizing return of Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s Batmen promised by the trailers.
But reviews for the movie have been middling. It stands at a borderline “fresh” 67% score on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and has earned a concerning B CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Collider’s own Ross Bonaime wrote in his review that the movie doesn’t have “a story that holds together on a narrative level.” Budgeted at a reported $200 million, The Flash will have to perform stupendously well to race ahead of competition in what will undoubtedly be a very crowded summer season.
The number two spot this weekend will likely go to Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which added $8.1 million on Friday, taking its running domestic tally to $260 million. The animated superhero sequel is looking to outperform Disney-Pixar’s latest original film, Elemental, which debuted with $11.6 million on Friday. Few studios have been impacted as badly by the pandemic than the formerly unbeatable Pixar, which hasn’t been able to deliver a hit since 2019’s Toy Story 4.
Last Week’s Number One Movie Had a Huge Fall
Slipping to the number four spot after debuting at number one last weekend, Paramount’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts grossed $5.2 million on its second Friday, registering a massive 74% drop. This takes the movie’s running domestic total to a ho-hum $85 million. Globally, the movie is passing the $200 million mark as we speak. It’s too early to declare Rise of the Beasts either a hit or a flop, but Paramount is certainly pinning its hopes on the movie; the studio has an entire new trilogy planned, not to mention the crossover project that was teased at the end of the film. Finally, Disney’s The Little Mermaid will outperform new release The Blackening for a top-five finish.
Elsewhere at the box office, director Wes Anderson’s latest film, Asteroid City, delivered among the best per-screen averages of the year after debuting in six theaters this weekend. The star-studded comedy drama, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, grossed $350,000 on Friday, for a per-screen average of $120,000. You can watch our interview with Asteroid City star Bryan Cranston here, and stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates over the weekend.
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