The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) hits its first misstep early on with “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which was rejected by general audiences despite having its share of ardent defenders. In the face of Disney’s rival Marvel Cinematic Universe chugging along to seemingly endless success, Warner Bros. kept building upon a weak foundation. But the DCEU never found consistent success or direction, and those struggles culminated in the historic disaster that was 2023’s “The Flash.”
In a recent Portuguese-language interview with Radio TU, Muschietti touched on why he thinks “The Flash” bombed at the box office. For one, the film’s star Ezra Miller attracted a mountain of negative publicity for several acts of criminal behavior before the film premiered. In March and April 2022, Miller was twice arrested in Hawaii, first for disorderly conduct and harassment and later for assault. Per Vanity Fair, in June 2022 the parents of young activist Tokata Iron Eyes filed for a restraining order against Miller, whom they claimed had groomed their child after first meeting Tokata in 2016, when they were only 12 years old.
In the Radio TU interview, Muschietti discussed Miller’s “PR crisis” in broad strokes, describing it as resulting from a “mental health situation,” but reiterating that he had a positive experience with the actor on “The Flash.” Muschietti then named his next culprit: superhero fatigue. Finally, he went on to suggest that the Flash is not a popular enough character for a multi-million blockbuster. Specifically, the director claimed that he’s learned from “private conversations” that “a lot of people just don’t care about The Flash as a character. Particularly the two female quadrants.”
That’s a new one; apparently, women just don’t like the Flash. Does this hold any water?
Did The Flash really struggle with female audiences?
According to Box Office Pro, the opening weekend audience for “The Flash” was 63 percent men and 37 percent women. It’s certainly a lopsided split — but not an unusual one for the superhero genre. The billion-dollar hit “Spider-Man: No Way Home” reportedly had the exact same audience ratio. “Avengers: Endgame” came in with a 60/40 split favoring men, while Warner Bros.’ previous DC hit “The Batman” attracted an audience of 65 percent men and 35 percent women.
Muschietti said in the interview that “when you spend $200 million making a movie, Warner Bros. wants to bring even your grandmother to the theaters,” suggesting the Flash needed broader appeal. But that doesn’t add up. “The Flash” spent over two decades in development, and Muschietti was just the latest in a long line of directors who had been attached to the project. If Warner Bros. thought the movie wouldn’t have adequate four quadrant appeal, then why make it at all? That the studio kept pushing ahead with “The Flash” despite setbacks suggests that someone near the top had confidence it could succeed.
That “The Flash” isn’t a viable superhero star also doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny because, while the movie was in development, a “Flash” TV series ran for nine seasons on the CW, from 2014 to 2023. Yet, it’s also possible that the success of “The Flash” TV show worked against the movie. Crossover appeal from fans of the show would be limited because it wasn’t Grant Gustin, their Flash, playing the movie version of Barry Allen. “The Flash” TV show is also considered by many to have gone downhill in its later seasons. The movie premiering a mere month after the TV series finally, mercifully wrapped? That could definitely contribute to feelings of fatigue.
Look, it’s not fair to pin the failure of “The Flash” solely on Muschietti. He worked on it as a hired gun, and he cites some external factors that undoubtedly were working against the movie. But be warned, Andy: the “lack of four quadrant appeal” excuse won’t wash if “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” bombs.
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