‘The Flash’ fizzles at the box office amid Ezra Miller controversy

Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ “The Flash” opened in first place at the domestic box office this weekend, grossing $55.1 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

But the superhero movie — whose marketing campaign has been marred by legal scandals and disturbing allegations surrounding its star, Ezra Miller — fell short of early domestic box office projections in the $70-million to $75-million range.

“The Flash” is not the first DC title to disappoint at the box office in recent years. The critically panned “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” launched at $30.5 million in March, while 2022’s “Black Adam” bowed at $67 million (not a terrible number, but nothing compared to superhero movies from rival studio Marvel, which typically rake in more than $100 million on opening weekend).

The studio has been in a state of turmoil since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which resulted in mass layoffs and killed upcoming DC projects such as “Batgirl” and “Wonder Woman 3.” Controversially, “The Flash” was not among the casualties.

Rounding out the top three at the domestic box office this weekend are Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” which debuted with a lackluster showing of $29.5 million; and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” which added $27.8 million in its third weekend for a North American total of $280.4 million.

Directed by Andrés Muschietti, “The Flash” sees Miller’s Barry Allen embark on a supersonic journey through space and time in an effort to save the universe. The supporting cast features Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, Ben Affleck’s Batman and Michael Keaton’s Batman.

The action film’s release comes on the heels of a turbulent period for both its studio and its lead, who has repeatedly been arrested and accused of misconduct in recent years.

In 2020, the 30-year-old “Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Fantastic Beasts” actor was filmed grabbing a female fan by the throat in Iceland. Two years later, they were arrested twice in Hawaii on suspicion of disorderly conduct and harassment (for allegedly causing a disturbance at a local bar) and second-degree assault (for allegedly throwing a chair at a woman).

In June 2022, the parents of an 18-year-old in North Dakota accused Miller of exhibiting “cult-like behavior” and using “emotional and psychological manipulation” to groom their child from age 12.

In January, Miller was placed on probation after they were charged with trespassing and felony burglary in Vermont, where a child services agency was reportedly searching for a mother and three children who had been living on Miller’s farm.

Miller announced last year that they had “begun ongoing treatment” for “complex mental health issues” after going through “a time of intense crisis.”

“I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior,” they said in a statement at the time.

“I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”

The “Justice League” breakout also reportedly met with studio executives and showed remorse for drawing negative attention to themself — and, by extension, “The Flash” — last summer as Warner Bros. was weathering a massive creative overhaul.

In the weeks leading up to the movie’s release, Miller has mostly stayed out of the spotlight. They did, however, make a rare appearance this month at the film’s Los Angeles premiere, where they gave a warm shout-out to Muschietti and thanked various studio execs for their support.

“Every few years, you have one of these unfortunate situations where a star who is inextricably linked with a character or a movie has very public off-screen issues,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, recently told The Times.

“This causes the studio publicity people nightmares because it takes one more thing out of their control. ‘The Flash’ will be a case study in what happens if you can’t have the main star doing publicity.”

Following Muschietti, Warner Bros. Discovery President David Zaslav and DC co-head James Gunn‘s attempts to hype it up (Zaslav and Gunn called it one of the best superhero movies they’ve ever seen, while Muschietti declared that no one could play the Scarlet Speedster better than Miller), “The Flash” earned mixed reviews and a decent 67% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The title received a B grade from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

“The most compelling question ‘The Flash’ poses, in the end, has little to do with separating the art from the artist; it’s about whether we can separate the film from the fan service,” writes Times film critic Justin Chang.

“Lost in an endless game of IP-reshuffling musical chairs, Barry realizes, possibly too late, the futility of dwelling on the past — a fatuous lesson from a movie that can’t stop doing the same.”

Peter Sohn‘s “Elemental” — the latest offering from Disney/Pixar — also fizzled at the box office this weekend, failing to meet even the low end of analysts’ expectations. It’s the second box office disappointment in a row for the studio duo that once ruled the modern animation market but has faced stiff competition in recent years from Sony Pictures Animation (“Spider-Verse”) and Universal/DreamWorks/Illumination (“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” the “Despicable Me” franchise.

Disney and Pixar are still struggling to mount a theatrical comeback after releasing multiple films (“Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red”) directly to streaming. The studios haven’t enjoyed a blockbuster hit since 2019’s “Toy Story 4,” according to Comscore.

Also new to theaters this weekend was Lionsgate’s “The Blackening”. Tim Story‘s slasher-comedy mocking the conventions of the horror genre debuted in sixth place with $6 million.

Both “Elemental” and “The Blackening” have been largely praised by critics: The former notched a respectable 75% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the latter scored an excellent 86%. “Elemental” also secured an A from audiences polled by CinemaScore, while “The Blackening” got a B plus.

Expanding to and opening in wide release this coming weekend are Focus Features’ “Asteroid City” and Sony Pictures’ “No Hard Feelings.”

Times staff writers Alexandra Del Rosario and Jonah Valdez contributed to this report.