It’s no secret that last year’s Black Adam was a colossal box office catastrophe. Attracting awfully bad numbers and even poorer reviews, the hype for the Dwayne Johnson-led superhero flick died more quickly than it was conjured. With the paltry $393 million that it managed to gross worldwide against a relatively enormous budget, the movie soon found itself in the dregs of ‘the worst DC films.’ But hey, at least it didn’t go down as ‘the worst superhero film ever,’ which is more than what The Flash can ever say for itself.
The Flash Gets Subjected to A Fate Worse Than Black Adam‘s
Sure, Black Adam was a massive flop. With a production budget that reportedly ranged anywhere from $195-260 million and accruing only $393 million in the global circuit, the movie didn’t even manage to break even. Even so, what Dwayne Johnson‘s film witnessed was a fate much more merciful than the one that Andrés Muschietti’s The Flash has been subjected to, one of abject horror and beyond saving.
The DCU tentpole starring Ezra Miller that was slated to be the studio’s saving grace has now become one of the biggest mistakes Warner Bros. could have ever made. The Flash, which was propped up on a gargantuan budget of roughly $200-220 million, has only grossed about $249 million up until now with its theatrical run estimated to end at an appalling $280 million.
In the 21 days that it has been in the cinemas (not counting the last two days), the movie which was extolled as ‘the greatest superhero movie of all time’ by James Gunn, brought in $40 million less than what Black Adam did in the same time frame. There’s even a wild difference in both their opening weekends – while the former had a pitiful opening weekend of about $55 million, the Jaume Collet-Serra-helmed film had one worth $67 million [via Box Office Mojo]. Yikes.
The Reason Behind the Film’s Astonishingly Horrific Failure
Despite rave reviews from critics, the audience seems to have completely despised the movie with its box office performance just as dismal, if not more. It even got into the good books of Tom Cruise who trumpeted it as the savior of superhero films (yes, the irony is glaringly obvious), and yet The Flash failed to meet any such expectations.
Related: Sorry James Gunn, AI Came Up With a Better Flash Story Than Your Army of Writers Did in ‘The Flash’
Sources gauge that one of the major reasons why it has flopped so terribly and garnered sub-par reactions at best is the incoherent structure that the film followed before its theatrical premiere. Not only did WB experiment with its marketing and promotion, but the studio also faced numerous production setbacks, some of which happened to be out of their hands. And then there’s the heap of scandals surrounding their leading star who has been at the epicenter of controversies ranging from assault to abuse.
Either way, The Flash doesn’t seem to be in any condition to even match Black Adam‘s performance, let alone surpass it. The movie is currently playing in cinemas.
Source: Box Office Mojo
