The Flash reportedly made a less-than-stellar entrance when it debuted on Warner Bros. Discovery's Max streaming service last weekend.
According to Samba TV, the Ezra Miller-starring DC superhero movie was watched by 1.1 million U.S. households over its first three days (Aug. 25 to Aug. 27, 2023) on Max. This is slightly lower than the 1.2 million U.S. households that tuned in to watch Black Adam over its first three days on Max, but way above the 260 thousand U.S. households that took a chance on Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
An infographic created by The Flash Film News reveals that The Flash's 1.1 million is the second-lowest Max debut for a DC title. Wonder Woman 1984 (2.2M) and The Suicide Squad (2.1M) remain the only DC movies to debut on Max with more than 2 million U.S. households tuning in. However, it is worth noting that both of these films were released during the pandemic and on Max and in theaters simultaneously, which led to more people viewing the titles in the comfort of their own homes.
Ahead of The Flash's theatrical release, celebrities like Tom Cruise and Stephen King -- who had viewed advanced copies of the title -- praised the blockbuster, leading many DC fans to have high hopes that the Scarlet Speedster's first film would be the event of the summer. Unfortunately, The Flash flopped at the box office, grossing only $268 million during its theatrical run. The film's poor box office performance is estimated to lose Warner Bros. Discovery upwards of $200 million. With Blue Beetle also not making many waves at the box office, Warner Bros. and DC Studios have so far released three box office duds in 2023, with Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($133M worldwide) rounding out the trio. Now, all eyes are on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to see if the long-awaited sequel can deliver the studio it's first superhero hit since The Batman.
Were There Plans for The Flash 2?
While The Flash is unlikely to receive a sequel given its poor critical reception and abysmal box office haul, that wasn't always the case. Warner Bros. and DC were once planning a follow-up, with director Andy Muschietti revealing that the sequel would have revealed that Reverse-Flash killed Barry Allen's mom. "Well, Reverse-Flash is the elephant in the room, right?" Muschietti said when asked which Flash villains could appear in a sequel. "It feels like you can’t make another movie without addressing the one that, in all accounts, is the murderer of Barry’s mom. So, it feels like the big villain." However, this storyline will likely stay unresolved as the shared universe is set to be rebooted by DC heads Gunn and Peter Safran in 2024.
The Flash is available to stream on Max.