The Flash box office disappoints as its way lower than Black Adam

Warner Bros. and DC bet a lot on The Flash, but unfortunately for the studio, the movie has generated disappointing numbers at the box office. Several press and fan screenings were held since April to generate hype for the film. Many celebrities, including Tom Cruise and Stephen King, praised the movie, but none of that has worked in favor of the film.

The Flash was called one of the best DC movies ever, but that hasn’t resonated with fans and critics. The 66% fresh reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B” on CinemaScore prove that the film has been quite divisive for fans and critics. While some absolutely loved it, others surely didn’t find it the best among the DC movies.

As a result, the box office numbers have been hampered as they are way lower than The Flash’s early projections of a $70 million domestic opening.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's views on the subject.

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The Flash’s box office opening is closer to Shazam!

Kara Zor-El, Barry Allen, and Michael Keaton (Image via DC)

As per box office mojo, The Flash has opened with just $55 million at the domestic box office, which is slightly better than the first Shazam!’s $53 million opening. The domestic total currently stands at $64 million, and the worldwide total is just at $139 million.

This opening is far lower than Black Adam, which also had its fair share of controversies regarding its box office numbers. At a production budget close to $200 million, Black Adam opened with $67 million domestically. It ended up with just $168 million at the domestic box office and $393 million globally.

But with the kind of opening that the latest Flash outing had, it’s likely that it won’t reach close to Black Adam’s total or even the first Shazam!’s total of $366 million worldwide.

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Why The Flash 2 will definitely not happen now

Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne (Image via DC)

Before the movie hit theaters, it was reported that a sequel could still happen despite James Gunn’s DCU taking the main focus in the future. For a Flash sequel to happen, the first one had to be as big of a box-office success as The Batman ($770 million) was. But for now, it seems that Ezra Miller’s latest outing might only end up with half of what The Batman grossed.

Justice League’s production budget was around $300 million after the reshoots. Adding the marketing budget on top of that made the film extremely expensive. As a result, the film barely reached the breakeven stage with its $658 million worldwide box office total.

Ezra Miller’s Flash movie (Image via DC)

The Flash’s production and marketing budget costs were around $300 million ($225 million production + marketing). So, if the movie ends up with numbers that are close to the first Shazam! movie, then it might prove to be an even bigger loss than Justice League was.

Hence, it has become a surety that Ezra Miller's Flash sequel will not happen, especially after the box office disaster it could turn out to be.