In the ever-evolving world of the entertainment industry, no genre has generated as much fan appeal and anticipation as superhero cinema. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a giant when it comes to box office numbers and drawing audiences, the DC Studios is not far behind. One of its most anticipated films, thanks to how much it was hyped during its marketing campaign, was the film The Flash.
One of the last films of Snyderverse, directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller as the titular speedster, the 2023 film promised to deliver a multiverse-spanning adventure that would have redefined the DC Extended Universe. Apart from Miller, the film features several A-listers, including Michael Keaton reprising his role of the Dark Knight as an alternate version of the character from a different timeline.
However, while the film seemed destined for success thanks to its ambitious premise, massive budget, and a marketing campaign steeped in nostalgia and spectacle, The Flash was a major box office disappointment. While the dust has long settled and various rational explanations have been given, taken, and accepted for its massive failure, the director Andy Muschietti has offered his own perspective about the same. So without further ado, here is what the filmmaker has to say about why his film failed to live up to its anticipated glory.
Andy Muschietti gets candid about The Flash‘s failure
In the long history of superhero cinema, very few films have generated as much anticipation as well as ‘controversy’ as DCEU’s The Flash. Poised to be a blockbuster, the film was made against a budget of $200 million but ended up grossing only $266 million worldwide (via The Numbers). A massively disappointing feat for a film that was hyped as much as The Flash was, there have been many reasons given for its failure.
However, director Andy Muschietti has his own ideas and in a recent interview on Radio Tu’s “La Baulera del Coso” show, the filmmaker revealed what he thinks made The Flash a bomb. According to him, the film failed to make a mark at the box office because it failed to hit ‘all four quadrants’ of audience demographics, i.e. men over 25, men under 25, women over 25, women under 25.
The Flash’ failed, among all the other reasons, because it wasn’t a movie that appealed to all four quadrants. It failed at that. When you spend $200 million making a movie, [Warner Bros.] wants to bring even your grandmother to the theaters.
Moreover, he stated that people do not really care about Flash as much as they care about other DC characters, especially women under and over the age of 25.
I’ve found in private conversations that a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character. Particularly the two female quadrants. All of that is just the wind going against the film I’ve learned.
Pretty strong claims to make about a film that did end up having a 63% critic rating and 82% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the director failed to acknowledge the many controversies and legal troubles that the lead star of the film, Ezra Miller faced and a couple of other issues with the film that ultimately ended up alienating viewers.
The many controversies surrounding The Flash and its lead star, Ezra Miller
When Ezra Miller first debuted as Barry Allen, fans and critics enjoyed his performance as the confused and anxious lad with incredible superpowers. However, in the years leading up to the release of his first standalone DC flick, The Flash, the actor’s life and career were riddled with a series of controversies that significantly complicated the film’s journey to the big screen.
While Miller did have a history of some problematic actions and statements, it wasn’t until 2020 that things turned really ugly for them. From being accused of assault to grooming underage children to threatening the members of a Ku Klux Klan chapter in North Carolina and an arrest for burglary, their controversies not only affected public perception of Miller but also cast a shadow over the movie’s marketing and reception.
In 2022 alone, Miller was arrested multiple times in Hawaii, once for disorderly conduct and harassment at a karaoke bar and later for second-degree assault after throwing a chair at a woman. By mid-2022, the accusations and allegations against him mounted, leading to them releasing a public statement acknowledging that they were dealing with complex mental health issues and committing to treatment (via PEOPLE).
Despite these challenges and backlash against Miller, Warner Bros., and DC Studios pressed forward with The Flash, advertising the film as a critical linchpin for their cinematic universe’s future.
Pontential reasons why The Flash really turned out to be a box office bomb
Well, the reasons behind The Flash’s underperformance are many and Ezra Miller’s controversies and trouble are just the tip of the iceberg. First and foremost, the film’s development was no less than a train wreck, it wasn’t until several rewrites and multiple changes in directors that the film entered production. Even when it did enter production, its release date was changed several times, ultimately landing the date of June 2023 (see Variety).
Apart from the logical constraints and challenges, the film, positioned as a major blockbuster, was released at a time when the audience was showing signs of fatigue with the DCEU, due to its inconsistent quality, convoluted timelines, and a lack of cohesive narrative. Despite its reliance on nostalgia as a selling point, Michael Keaton‘s return as Batman failed to resonate with a lot of younger audiences.
Then there was the issue of marketing, while on one side the film was being hyped to the extremes, on the other, it needed to address the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller’s personal life, leading to overall unfocused marketing.
Meanwhile, the film itself was criticized for its pacing, tonal inconsistency, and heavy reliance on past DCEU projects, not to mention the terrible CGI work the film had. Releasing at a time when DC Studio was undergoing a major change and facing severe competition at the box office, it seems The Flash was rather a victim of its own circumstances.
The Flash is available to be streamed on Netflix.
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