Hold onto your seats, folks, because Warner Bros./DC’s The Flash is taking the superhero movie universe to a whole new level! According to box office sources, the film raked in a whopping $9M in Thursday night previews alone, which began at 3PM. And while the critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes may have fallen to 67% fresh from 71% fresh, audiences are loving it at 88%. That’s a great sign!
But that’s not all, folks. Warner Bros. is already celebrating before The Flash‘s final Monday grosses. DC co-chief James Gunn and Peter Safran have officially christened The Flash director Andy Muschietti as the helmer of their future Batman reboot, The Brave and the Bold. And to top it off, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group and Television have inked a multi-year pact with the Argentinian filmmaker and his sister producer Barbara Muschietti.
Now, let’s talk numbers. The Flash‘s Thursday preview numbers are in the same ballpark as Sony/Marvel’s Venom ($10M), Marvel’s Doctor Strange ($9.4M), and DC’s Aquaman ($9M excluding paid sneaks), but above Marvel’s Ant-Man ($6.4M). And while Wonder Woman did $11M on her Thursday night, it’s important to remember that she was a highly anticipated DC superhero that female moviegoers were craving for, not to mention she had the big media wattage of Gal Gadot. The Flash is in a very different situation. Its star, Ezra Miller, just made their big PR debut for the film on Monday, four days before opening, at the Hollywood premiere. The actor kept largely out of the $200M pic’s promo machine given their tabloid history over the last year-plus. Also, The Flash cast hasn’t been able to make a splash on late-night TV since those shows are dark due to the WGA Strike.
But don’t let that fool you. The weekend outlook for The Flash is between $70M-$75M, and if it emulates the gross patterns of Doctor Strange and Venom, with tonight repping around 30% of its complete Friday+previews, then the Muschiettis’ DC superhero movie could find its way into the $80M+ neighborhood. Both Wonder Woman and Aquaman are slightly different superpowered beings when it comes to their box office comps.
And let’s not forget that Monday, June 19, is Juneteenth, and a majority of schools and people are off from work. So what can that bring to The Flash? Since it’s a new holiday, we have yet to see some major moviegoing action. Last year’s top Juneteenth films saw single-digit takes between $6.5M-$8.6M, averaging a -55% dip from their Sunday gross.
But wait, there’s more! Disney/Pixar’s Elemental started previews at 3PM tonight, and box office sources peg that pic’s Thursday night at around $3.5M. While The Flash has IMAX, Elemental has 2,400 3D locations, 275 PLF auditoriums, and 140 4D/D-Box screens embedded in its 4,000 theater booking. Low projections on the film, which audiences like more than critics on Rotten Tomatoes, 88% to 76%, are at $35M, though it wouldn’t be shocking if the Peter Sohn directed title gets into the $40M range.
So there you have it, folks. The Flash is taking the superhero movie world by storm, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for this epic adventure!
