Comic book films have been part of the cinema landscape for decades. There were superhero films long before the MCU. In 2023, one of the most important DC heroes received his own film. But even a star cast and a lot of nostalgia couldn’t help The Flash become a success.
What kind of movie is The Flash? The Flash was released in 2023 and was another film in the DC film universe that began in 2013 with Man of Steel. As the name suggests, it’s about the eponymous hero Flash, who made his first small appearance in Batman v Superman.
The Solo film’s story was based on the important Flashpoint arc, which had far-reaching consequences in the comic universe. But the solo film was a flop. According to IMDb, the film cost an estimated $200 million, but only managed to gross just under $270 million worldwide.
That may sound like a lot of money at first, but with a budget of $200 million, you have to gross at least $400 million, if not more when you consider marketing costs. The film faced many problems, which even the director commented on.
The Flash – Trailer German
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The director thinks he knows the reason for the failure
Why was the film a flop? You can never say for sure, you can only make assumptions. The film’s director, Andy Muschietti, recently commented on the flop and said the film failed to reach all of the 4 key target groups (via Variety). The intended target groups are men under 25 and over 25 and women under 25 and over 25. He says that the film particularly did not interest the female target group.
Films like Wonder Woman appealed much better to all target groups.
The film attempted to capitalize on nostalgia in a similar way to Spider-Man: No Way Home. With Michael Keaton as Batman, they had brought back a legendary actor in an iconic role. But that didn’t work either.
Another big problem is probably the direction of the DC film universe at the time. In 2022, James Gunn was hired as co-CEO for DC Studios and even before the start of The Flash it was clear that James Gunn was starting a new universe (via gq.com). Fans of such film universes could have been put off by this if the story told has no influence on the future anyway.
In addition to these problems, there was the main actor Ezra Miller, who had been in negative headlines since 2020. As Variety noted in a timeline, Ezra Miller also had run-ins with the law and also made few appearances during the film’s promotional phase.
Critics and fans didn’t think the film was bad
How was the film received by critics and audiences? The film was received quite positively by critics, but not remarkably. With 389 reviews, the film has a score of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences liked the film a little more. With over 5,000 reviews, the film achieved an audience score of 82%.
In June 2023, The Flash still had to compete against Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which was much better received by both critics and fans.
What do you think of the film? Did you like The Flash or wouldn’t you recommend it? Feel free to write it to us in the comments. MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski particularly liked one character from the film: Since I saw the new Supergirl from The Flash in the cinema, I no longer miss Henry Cavill as Superman