Flash it is a dismal failure. In its second weekend, the Andrés Muschietti film barely raised 15.3 million dollars. A nearly 73% decline in their box office ratings regarding its premiere. The figure makes the feature film a disaster of historic proportions in DC and in superhero cinema in general. A genre that is going through an uncertain period after being one of the most lucrative for almost a decade and a half.
Everything indicates that the main franchises are going through a difficult time in terms of their ability to continue to be successful. However, it is not entirely easy to understand what happens to the financial performance of the most famous sagas. On the one hand, the disappointing collection of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel’s first phase five movie, puzzled. What it opened up was speculation about whether the increase in studio content had affected the quality of its productions and its success.
On the other hand, the mediocre numbers of Shazam! The fury of the gods seemed to show that stories about heroic figures have reached the saturation point in public preferences. However, the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 it was a resounding success. the same as the Spider-Man: Crossing the Multiverse, turned into one of the highest grossing films of the year. In fact, while Flash slowly sinking in its disastrous numbers, the animation continues to make considerable profits almost a month after its release.
Flash compromises the future of DC
But what has caused Flashone of the most anticipated films of the year, becomes a disaster that threatens even the future strength of the saga DC? The feature film, which before its premiere received praise from figures as diverse as Tom Cruise and Stephen King, has aroused strong rejection among fans.
Something that translates into a reaction that could affect the restart of the franchise, planned for the year 2025 with the premiere of Superman: Legacy. Is it a first failure that marks many others? Regardless of whether this circumstance affects other films or only Flashwhat has caused it?
The answer about what could have happened with Flash it is not simple. In fact, everything indicates that it is the mixture of various situations that led to a dangerous instability for the study. What are the possible causes of the film giving such a problematic result? These are probably some of them.
A big messy story
Flash is the story of Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) and his attempt to prevent the tragic death of his mother. Loosely based on the comic flash point, by Geoff Johns, is a new perspective on the DC multiverse. But, in its film version, the plot seems to revolve exclusively around his central character and the major trauma that marked his life.
In fact, during its first few minutes, the film shows Barry’s point of view regarding the world he inhabits. From his relationship with his extraordinary abilities to the perspective they give him of reality. Everything is based, in essence, on how the young hero understands the context of him. Flash it carefully explores Barry, a figure in full moral and intellectual growth.
For this reason, its second and third sections, focused on the multiverse, generate an appreciable narrative disorder. The argument abandons its intimate gaze on Barry Allen for something bigger and more ambitious. But he does so without having the capacity to sustain a tale that includes multiple versions of iconic heroes and a half-told origin story.
He Batman of Michael Keaton and the Supergirl embodied by Sasha Calle are just pieces of information without support. Which is accentuated by the endless series of cameos included without explanation. For her last moments, Flash loses balance and becomes a chaos that ends up decaying in an incomplete and chaotic ending.
The multiverse does not contribute anything
In Flash, the multiverse ends up becoming a plot ballast. Much more, when it is an obvious excuse for nostalgia or the direct use of the fan service. Which makes both time travel and alternate realities lose solidity and importance.
Of course, it’s not a narrative trick unknown in contemporary cinema. Marvel used it with relative success in Doctor Strange: Into the Multiverse of Madness, where the protagonist found that the possible timelines were a danger to the future of the saga in hundreds of different ways. On the other hand, the success Everything at once everywhere at the same time it took the concept to a gigantic dimension in the plot, where each decision of its protagonists caused the existence of an interconnected parallel reality. And the same could be said of Spider-Man: Crossing the Multiversewhich successfully managed to mix hundreds of versions of the hero in various settings.
On the contrary, in Flash the idea fragments the narrative artificially. What begins as a consequence of the younger Barry’s actions ends in a series of incomplete visions of reality. The possible or probable futures are shown in a concrete way and invite us to reflect on the infinite alternative dimensions.
But neither is important nor has consequences in the central plot of the film. The appearance of variants of Superman, played by George Reeves, Christopher Reeves or even Nicolas Cage, are more curiosities than additions of information. The same goes for the surprising revelation of the new identity of the Batman of the current reality of Barry. None of the announced cameos have any significance for the future. Nothing Flash actually has it. A circumstance that leads to her most serious problem.
Flash is irrelevant to DC
Despite the repeated praise and the voices that considered it the best superhero movie released so far, Flash it is unimportant. None of its characters, nor its story, have any interest other than to show that DC’s central timeline can be different.
However, the protagonists of the film, their conflicts or their ending do not affect the announced restart of the saga. There are even doubts about the future interest of his post-credits scene, which shows Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) in a brief appearance. With the sequel to Aquaman next, it is possible that this is the only detail that links Flash with the rest of the films to be released. But the sequence only proves that the character also exists in the universe Barry is in. Does that ensure that it will be part of the new stories to come? We don’t have the answer.
However, most worrisome in Flash is that each of the characters in its plot symbolizes the end of a stage. the batman Ben Affleck’s is replaced by George Clooney’s, indicating the former’s demise. It also explains how Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) died as a baby and that the League of Justice has not been formed. It seems that what is narrated in the film is just a chapter completely unrelated to any continuity. Could that lack of narrative weight in the studio’s future have affected how audiences interpreted the film?
A criminal as the protagonist
Ezra Miller became a major problem for DC after committing a series of violent crimes in various parts of the world. On April 6, 2020, a video was published in which the artist can be seen assaulting a woman in Iceland. From then on, the accusations became increasingly serious and frequent. From various arrests in Hawaii to accusations of aggravated abuse in 2022. The actor became a disturbing figure that even questioned the premiere of Flash.
Finally, on August 15, 2022, he apologized in a public statement admitting his erratic and dangerous behavior, as well as promising to spend time and effort treating his mental health. However, by then, a large part of the specialized press wondered if the presence of the actor could be a drag on The Flash as a public phenomenon.
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Something that seems to have happened even without being an obvious circumstance. However, the fact that the actor did not participate in the promotion and that more emphasis was placed on cameos than on the main character could have affected the film as a whole.