For some time now, both the DCEU and Warner Bros. have been going all-out to create the next big superhero movie that will kick off a new superhero franchise, or at least be able to dethrone Marvel and their stranglehold over the market. Despite their valiant efforts, the DCEU has been coming up short in this department, so they decided to make the bold decision of rebooting the entire franchise with their “The Flash” movie.
From a comics reader’s perspective, this makes sense, as the Flash has proven time and time again that he can go back to the past and alter the timeline. But since this is real life, we can’t simply forget the mistakes that Ezra Miller, the infamous actor who plays the Scarlet Speedster, made.
Despite the heinous crimes the actor has committed, he is still given the chance to not only portray the Flash, but also spearhead the next phase of DCEU movies. Warner Bros. knows this, and they have done their best to dance around the problem until the official release of the film. That is, until their production designer said that fans would forget Miller’s many crimes after watching the film. Miller has been notably absent from all promotional material and tours while the Flash film was still in production, and no one has seen the actor since the allegations of wrongdoing surfaced until now, when he was seen walking down the carpet for the release of his film and even gave a public comment on his predicament.
Though reviews have started to come in, most of which are largely positive, the film is hardly making enough to reach the anticipated goal for the opening weekend. It’s no secret that Warner Bros. has been promoting this film to heights never seen before, but The Hollywood Reporter projects that The Flash will land in the US$70 million range in its first week. Now that may seem like a lot, but it’s way below the average for a movie that has been heavily and extensively promoted.
For comparison, “Aquaman” debuted in 2018 to just US$67.8 million, but wound up grossing US$335 million in the US. Overall, Aquaman earned US$1.148 billion at the box office. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”, directed by Zack Snyder, still has the best opening for a DCEU film, grossing US$166 million in its initial weekend back in 2016.
Unfortunately, there is a multitude of factors that caused such an unprecedented turnout. The story of the Flash going back in time to save his mom and rewrite history has been told over and over again, both in comics and animated films. However, the more pressing concern is the actor portraying The Fastest Man Alive, as people have not forgotten his crimes, nor will they after watching the film (regardless of what the production designer said).
Not only that, it seems that the fans are done supporting the DCEU overall, as they have decided to unceremoniously let go of Henry Cavill, a fan favourite in the entire DCEU. DC’s entire film franchise is sorely in need of a win right now after the flops of the Shazam and Black Adam movies.
And though they can rely on Elseworld movies like the cinematic masterpiece, The Joker, without an ace or two up their sleeves, DC will continue to struggle against their longtime rival. However, the film might show some latent potential given enough time, as it is the opening week, and perhaps they will be able to recoup some of their losses.
