‘The Flash’ Struggles Toward the Finish Line at the Global Box Office

June was such a ruthless battle at the box office for so many blockbuster films. Some made it out alive with their head intact while others tripped in and fell to their financial doom. Sadly one of those latter films was DC’s The Flash. Despite a great marketing campaign that celebrated the legacy of DC films with the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman at the center, the time travel epic never hit the ground running with one of the most disappointing box office starts the comic book genre had ever seen. Now, in its fourth weekend of release, The Flash has scraped together another $5 million at the global box office in 78 overseas markets on 7889 screens. This brings the international total up to $156.4 million and its worldwide box office has finally crossed the $250 million mark with $261.6 million.

While The Flash hasn’t had any meaningful legs to stand on and is going to lose a lot of money, at this point the film just needs to make as much money back as it can. This along with Shazam! Fury of the Gods has made 2023 an awful year for DC. In the span of three months, DC has released two of the biggest box office bombs in history. There are many reasons why The Flash failed to resonate with audiences. The ongoing Ezra Miller situation made the film extremely hard to market, The Flash isn’t an A-list hero like Batman or Wonder Woman as many comic book readers previously thought, and the $200 million production budget put the film under immense pressure to make money.

DC’s Disappointing Box Office History

However, arguably the main reason The Flash didn’t gain any traction is the fact that moviegoers had lost faith in the DC brand. While there have been some real gems in their lineup like Birds of Prey, Aquaman, The Suicide Squad, and Wonder Woman, rarely has DC had a box office or critical hit. The colloquially dubbed “Snyderverse” that started with Man of Steel was controversial at the very beginning thanks to its grittier nature. The Flash had ties to Man of Steel which was considered its own box office disappointment in 2013. It also didn’t help that DC is rebooting its entire universe with Superman: Legacy in 2025. The first phase of the new DCU “Gods and Monsters” was announced way before The Flash’s release this past January.

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The Flash is Still Putting up a Fight in Theaters

The real shame in all of this is that The Flash if given a chance, is a good movie. Andy Muschietti directed his heart out of the film with stunning action, creative visuals, and great performances that gave this tragic story a lot of memorable emotional depth. Yes some of the CGI was questionable, and the endless cameos might have been a bit much, but the loving passion behind the project is clear. Despite what the box office continues to say about the film financially, this is one of the best DC films of the last decade. The Flash is still in theaters ahead of its rumored July 18 digital release date. It will be interesting to see if the film can cross the $300 million mark before the hero’s theatrical run ends and how it will affect the remaining DC slate for 2023 which includes the upcoming debut of Blue Beetle.

In the meantime, The Flash’s trailer can be seen down below.