According to a box office analysis, The Flash is bound to lose so much money that it would have probably been better for DC to have never released the film in the first place. Ezra Miller leads The Flash as Barry Allen, giving their best performance yet in the role; however, Miller’s acting and the combined efforts of The Flash‘s talented cast — including Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s versions of Batman, Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, and others — could not save the film from being a box office bomb. After The Flash had one of the DCEU’s worst box office openings, things have not gotten better for the film.
On Twitter, box office analyst Luiz Fernando seemingly answered whether Warner Bros. Discovery would have lost more money not releasing The Flash than it has by putting the movie in theaters.
According to the analyst, The Flash is eyeing a $280 million to $310 million global run at the box office. Based on the movie’s $150 million marketing budget and the fact that the studio only keeps half the global theatrical gross of the film, The Flash would not even properly recoup its marketing cost if it matches projections. Beyond that, Luiz calculates that The Flash could end up losing over $200 million, a hefty blow to the DC brand.
The Flash May Lose Warner Bros $200m
The Flash losing $200 million is a major deal. Before the film’s release, the latest DC entry was heralded by a number of celebrities — including Tom Cruise, Stephen King, and Jaden Smith — as a fantastic movie. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn echoed the sentiment with statements claiming that The Flash is one of the best superhero movies of all time. Miller’s many controversies over the past couple of years, allied with a series of leaks, which included The Flash fully leaking on Twitter, contributed to the pre-release hype not translating into box office numbers.
The Flash‘s poor financial exploits put it alongside some of the several box office bombs that have come from the comic book movie community over the years. The Flash‘s $200 million loss stands alongside films like Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern, which grossed just $220 million against a $200 million budget, and 1997’s Batman & Robin, with the George Clooney film making $238 million on a $125 to $160 million budget.
2017’s Justice League, whose major box office loss led to major shakeups at DC, reportedly lost less money than The Flash. The film grossed $657.9 million on a $300 million budget, losing around $60 million. The Flash is also performing worse than Black Adam. Per Box Office Mojo, the ill-received Dwayne Johnson movie ended its global run with $393.2 million against a reported $195 million budget, losing up to $100 million. The Flash also had a poor second-weekend drop, with its 73% only being better than Morbius‘ 73.8% among comic book movies that debuted in first place. Based on the numbers, The Flash is sadly a failure for DC.
Source: Luiz Fernando/Twitter
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