Warner Bros. and DC Studios' highly anticipated film "The Flash" stumbled at the domestic box office this weekend, at the top spot with an unimpressive $55.1 million in ticket sales, as reported by measurement firm Comscore.
While the superhero flick faced its fair share of challenges, including legal scandals and unsettling allegations surrounding its lead actor, Ezra Miller, it fell short of initial predictions that anticipated a range of $70 million to $75 million in domestic earnings. On the international front, "The Flash" amassed an additional $75 million, bringing its global cumulative total to $130.1 million.
This isn't the first time a DC title has struggled to meet box office expectations in recent years. Earlier this year, the critically criticized "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" debuted with $30.5 million in March, while "Black Adam" premiered to $67 million in October—although not a disastrous outcome, it pales in comparison to the massive opening weekend numbers typically achieved by superhero movies from Marvel, a rival studio that often surpasses the $100 million mark.
Warner Bros. and DC Studios have faced internal upheaval following the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, resulting in extensive layoffs and the cancellation of upcoming DC projects such as "Batgirl" and "Wonder Woman 3." Notably, amidst the turmoil, "The Flash" managed to survive unscathed and move forward controversially, defying expectations to become one of the projects unaffected by the merger.
After Muschietti, Warner Bros. Discovery President David Zaslav and DC co-head James Gunn made enthusiastic efforts to generate excitement (with Zaslav and Gunn proclaiming it as one of the finest superhero films they've ever witnessed, and Muschietti asserting that no one could portray the Scarlet Speedster better than Miller), "The Flash" garnered varied feedback and achieved a respectable 67% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
According to the CinemaScore audience poll, the title was awarded a B grade by viewers.