The All Things Flash Thread. - Part 2

[The Shape]

I am totally fine with this being a one and done for Keaton. It’s more than I ever imagined I’d get to see over the past 30 years. Just happy it actually happened at all.

Beggers can’t be choosers!

 

[Invader Joker]

Ezra Miller’s ‘The Flash,’ ‘Elemental’ Encounter Box Office Headwinds – The Hollywood Reporter

The Flash, starring Ezra Miller in the titular role, is pacing to open in the $70 million range, according to sources who have access to tracking data. Box office insiders say that’s a soft number for a movie that’s been heavily promoted by Warner Brothers Discovery as the best superhero film of all time. Others note that a movie’s hold once it opens is more important than the opening weekend gross.

https://www.thewrap.com/the-flash-dc-box-office-predictions-opening/

Three weeks away from release, projections have “The Flash” earning an opening of at least $75 million, lower than the $134 million opening of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” in March 2022 but better than the $67 million opening of “Black Adam” and way better than the abysmal $30.1 million opening of “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods.” Rival distributors tell TheWrap they expect projections to increase as the film’s June 16 release date gets closer.

 

[kguillou]

Thats… not a good number to open to.

I thought estimates were in the 115-140M range?

 

[Invader Joker]

Thats… not a good number to open to.

I thought estimates were in the 115-140M range?

Those were from early projections based on internet buzz. These are from pre-sale data. It basically showcases that the internet hype was a bit overblown.

 

[Moncton]

Any opening lower than 100 million would be a disaster for this film, especially considering how much competition there will be after for the film.

 

[dhandler01]

Jesus just relax and see what happens projections change over time. It isn't even June yet.

 

[AntonGobbs89]

I am totally fine with this being a one and done for Keaton. It’s more than I ever imagined I’d get to see over the past 30 years. Just happy it actually happened at all.

Beggers can’t be choosers!

That’s where I am at the current moment. The fact that we’re getting him one more time is unbelievable. I have no expectations past this one miracle.

 

[DCDAVE]

Relax. The movie is still three weeks away. With movies like Little Mermaid and Spiderverse coming out in the next two weeks the presale tickets will be low. I guarantee after June 12 ticket sales will sky rocket.

 

[AntonGobbs89]

I think further Keaton stuff would be better on Max. There are stories to tell.

Batgirl is NOT one of them. I'm honestly glad it was shelved.

I wouldn’t go so far to say that I’m glad it got cancelled, but I was relieved when Gunn and Safran took over and scrapped whatever plans were in place. What they were planning to do with Keaton’s Batman seemed odd to me. I’m a huge fan of Batman 1989 and Keaton’s portrayal of the character, but the idea of taking him out of the Burtonverse and integrating him into these other DC films was not my cup of tea.

 

[dhandler01]

Just enjoy the ride. Don't get caught up in the mishagas just have fun and let the cops fall where they may! It's not like there is going to be a sequel or anything...

 

[kguillou]

Just enjoy the ride. Don't get caught up in the mishagas just have fun and let the cops fall where they may! It's not like there is going to be a sequel or anything...

You got a point bro, either way this is kind of the “grand finale” of the DCEU so techncially its box office results are irrelevant. All that matters is if the movie’s a good time and from what you say it is and i trust what you say.

I think some of us, myself included, are just paranoid because DC’s been on such a bad losing streak that it needs a win so badly. It would be nice for this film to defy the odds and be a smash success for Muschietti and Michael Keaton.

 

[dhandler01]

But this won't really be a win. Even if critics like it the sunk cost means it likely loses money.

 

[flickchick85]

As a DC fan, I think it's genuinely for the best if this is NOT the big "win" DC needs. Not only do we not need anything to encourage them to keep Ezra, but they need Legacy to be that win, anyway. These movies before that are just here to entertain us in the meantime until the new universe launches in 2025. If this movie was a runaway success, it would only complicate things, likely in a bad way.

 

[Lily Adler]

But this won't really be a win. Even if critics like it the sunk cost means it likely loses money.

Let's just channel that "win" energy into Legacy.

 

[Invader Joker]

As a DC fan, I think it's genuinely for the best if this is NOT the big "win" DC needs. Not only do we not need anything to encourage them to keep Ezra, but they need Legacy to be that win, anyway. These movies before that are just here to entertain us in the meantime until the new universe launches in 2025. If this movie was a runaway success, it would only complicate things, likely in a bad way.

I don't even think Gunn wants it to be a mega-win either, the ideal scenario for him would be it makes enough money so DC Studios doesn't lose anything and gets a few extra millions to use, but also enough it further justifies his reboot and throwing away all previous plans relating to the DCEU.

I doubt he lost any sleep over Shazam 2 flopping, or likely when Blue Beetle flops as well.

 

[kguillou]

Gunn barely had anything to say about Shazam 2. And his own wife appeared in it LOL. He seems to genuinely like The Flash and is giving it a big clout push. That and Blue Beetle. But youre right, technically it would make his job easier if fhese films just crashed and burned.

Or. Does it make his job harder if these films crash? Because these movies flopping just furthers the narrative that people dont care about DC unless its Batman even if the movie is good.

 

[Invader Joker]

Gunn barely had anything to say about Shazam 2. And his own wife appeared in it LOL. He seems to genuinely like The Flash and is giving it a big clout push. That and Blue Beetle. But youre right, technically it would make his job easier if fhese films just crashed and burned.

Or. Does it make his job harder if these films crash? Because these movies flopping just furthers the narrative that people dont care about DC unless its Batman even if the movie is good.

I mean... it's still an expensive film, and I doubt he'd want it to lose money either and its marketing options are limited.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

As cool as a Batman Beyond might be, I do feel that between The Batman Part 2 and Brave and the Bold, that train has sailed considering how 3 different Batman franchises going on at the same time would indeed be oversaturation at this point.

100%. Which is a shame because I'd drop The Brave & The Bold in a ****ing heartbeat for a Batman Beyond movie. Preferably with Keaton. That movie just feels completely doomed to be an Also-Ran. Its the least exciting project on the DCU slate, imo.

 

[Moncton]

I think WB and Gunn do want this to be a big hit, WB is in a bad place financially so the resources they will pour into the Gunnverse may be impacted heavily by the outcome of this film

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Yeah, The Flash was massively expensive to make and if a movie that seems poised to be quite well reviewed with a big sexy nostalgic marketing hook can't make a big box office showing it doesn't say amazing things about GA interest in DC as a brand apart from straight up Batman movies going forward.

I don't think it has anything to do with Ezra, either. I really don't think they're famous enough for just your average GA member to be all that aware of their rampage in the first place.

 

[flickchick85]

Honestly, I think people put too much stock in "the brand." People don't see DC as a unified brand the way they do Marvel, hence them having a big hit Wonder Woman movie and a billion dollar hit in Aquaman, followed by disappointments, followed by another billion dollar hit with Joker, and a successful Batflick followed by disappointments. People will go to DC movies if they look good, plain and simple. Aquaman looked really fun. Joker had good trailers, The Batman looked damn good. Black Adam and Shazam 2 did not.

And while I know a bunch of DC fans thought The Flash looked good, I think a bunch of the GA (along with plenty of people on this board including myself) felt differently. When 80% of your trailer is CGI that looks bad as this does, that's gonna turn off A LOT of people. It may well be a great movie, but the trailers didn't do it justice, if that's the case. I think it will do well. It has enough hooks for that. Well enough to make a profit with that budget? Remains to be seen. But I don't think it was ever poised to be any kind of billion dollar megahit.

 

[kguillou]

I will admit one thing, one hump this movie has to overcome is selling it to the millenials who did not grow up on Michael Keaton's Batman...or Michael Keaton for that matter. 80's and 90's babies like myself are gonna have an investment to see this but there are whole generations since then who probably never watched the Burton or Schumacher Batman movies and dont really have any nostalgic tether to them. Thats the advantage No Way Home had. Tobey and Andrew were Spider-men of the 2000's so all these younger generations grew up with them and you got that audience en masse interested to see them return.

 

[Frodo]

I do think that this film has had much more hype among fandom circles than the GA ,which may attribute to the lower than expected tracking.

Ironically, it sounds as if the film is genuinely good, but at this point , all of the praise and passion behind the film are with geek critics , pundits, and fans .

We'll see what happens after the more higher profile film critics see the film .

Maybe once alot of the hype is outside the fan bubble ,and if the positive word of mouth comes from outside the fan bubble , things will look a bit better Box office wise.

But we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Gothamsknight]

If the film is genuinely good, I think WOM may carry it.

 

[Frodo]

I will admit one thing, one hump this movie has to overcome is selling it to the millenials who did not grow up on Michael Keaton's Batman...or Michael Keaton for that matter. 80's and 90's babies like myself are gonna have an investment to see this but there are whole generations since then who probably never watched the Burton or Schumacher Batman movies and dont really have any nostalgic tether to them. Thats the advantage No Way Home had. Tobey and Andrew were Spider-men of the 2000's so all these younger generations grew up with them and you got that audience en masse interested to see them return.

That's a good point.

I would gather that Christian Bale would be the " Older Batman " that alot of Millennials and perhaps even Zoomers, would have a connection, to as opposed to Keaton's, who was quickly followed by Kilmer and Clooney .

For me, Keaton is Batman, but that's because he was the first Batman I was exposed to in 1989.