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“The Flash” director Andy Muschietti has his own thoughts as to why the $200 million tentpole was a box office dud.
Released in 2023, “The Flash” grossed $271 million by the end of its run. It is not a small figure by any means, but considering the budget size and projected marketing costs, the DC blockbuster needed to double that figure to get out of the red. Muschietti said the reason “The Flash” couldn’t recoup cost was because it “failed” to hit “all four quadrants” of moviegoer demographics, (men over 25, men under 25, women over 25, women under 25), despite Warner Bros.’s best efforts.
“‘The Flash’ failed, among all the other reasons, because it wasn’t a movie that appealed to all four quadrants. It failed at that,” Muschietti said on Radio Tu’s “La Baulera del Coso” show. “When you spend $200 million making a movie, [Warner Bros.] wants to bring even your grandmother to the theaters.”
Muschietti went on to say that behind closed doors, he found people “don’t care” about the Flash as much as other beloved DC icons like Batman or Superman. He noted this is especially true in the women under and over 25 demographics.
“I’ve found in private conversations that a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character,” Muschietti said. “Particularly the two female quadrants. All of that is just the wind going against the film I’ve learned.”
Outside of box office woes, “The Flash” was plagued by lengthy delays and off-camera issues with star Ezra Miller.