Why the flash failed at the box office, says its director

The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) makes its first mistake early on “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice”, which was rejected by a wide audience despite having his share of ardent defenders. Faced with Disney's rival Marvel Cinematic Universe struggling with seemingly endless success, Warner Bros. continued to rest on weak foundations. But the DCEU never found consistent success or direction, and these struggles culminating in the historical disaster that was 2023's The Flash.

In a recent interview in Portuguese with Radio TUdirector Andy Muschietti touched on why he thinks “The Flash” bombed at the checkout. First, the film's star, Ezra Miller, attracted a mountain of negative publicity for several criminal acts before the film's release. In March and April 2022, Miller was arrested twice in Hawaii, first for disorderly conduct and harassment, and later for assault. Per Vanity FairIn June 2022, the parents of young activist Tokata Iron Eyes filed a restraining order against Miller, who they said had groomed their child after first meeting Tokata in 2016, when they were just 12 years old.

In an interview with Radio TU, Muskieti discussed Miller's “PR crisis” at length, describing it as the cause of a “mental health situation,” but reiterating that he had a positive experience with the actor in “The Flash”. Muschietti then named his next culprit: superhero fatigue. Finally, he suggested that Flash is not a popular enough character for a multi-million blockbuster. Specifically, the director claimed that he learned from “private conversations” that “a lot of people just don't care about The Flash as a character. Especially the two female quadrants.”

It is new; apparently, women just don't like Flash. Does it contain water?

According to Box Office ProThe opening weekend audience for “The Flash” was 63 percent male and 37 percent female. It's definitely a lopsided distribution, but not unusual for the superhero genre. Billion dollar hit 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' reported had exactly the same audience ratio. “Avengers: Endgame” came in with a 60/40 split favoring menwhile Warner Bros. previous DC hit “Batman” attracted 65 percent of men and 35 percent of women.

Muskietti said in an interview that “when you spend $200 million making a movie, Warner Bros. wants to bring even your grandmother into theaters,” suggesting that The Flash needs broader appeal. But it's not the same. “The Flash” spent more than two decades in developmentand Muschietti was just the latest in a long line of directors attached to the project. If Warner Bros. thought the movie wouldn't have proper four-quadrant appeal, then why make it at all? That the studio continued to move forward with “The Flash” despite the setbacks shows that someone at the top was confident it could succeed.

The fact that The Flash isn't a viable superhero star also doesn't stand up to much scrutiny, as the Flash television series ran for nine seasons on the CW, from 2014 to 2023, during the film's development. However, the success of The Flash TV show may have worked against the film. The show's fan appeal would be limited because it wasn't Grant Gustin, him Flash playing Barry Allen's movie version. The TV show “The Flash” has also gone downhill, according to many in its later seasons. The movie premiering just a month after the series finally, mercifully wrapped up? It could definitely contribute to feeling tired.

Look, it's not fair to pin the failure of “The Flash” solely on Muschietti. He worked on it like a hired gun, and he cites some external factors that arguably worked against the film. But be warned, Andy: the “lack of four-quadrant appeal” excuse won't work if “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” balls.