DC Studios' The Flash was one of the most expensive superhero movies ever made.
While the budget for the Ezra Miller-starring DC Extended Universe film has previously been reported to be in the vicinity of $220 million, The Hollywood Reporter recently stated that the film actually cost Warner Bros. Discovery about $300 million. At that budget, The Flash would tie with 2017's Justice League for the most expensive film in the DCEU, with the next closest being 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with a budget of $250 million. However, The Flash and Justice League's budgets pale in comparison to Marvel Studios' Avengers sequels, which cost between $325 million to $495 million each.
The Flash Bombed at the Box Office
Unfortunately for Warner Bros. Discovery, the company was not able to recoup its investment in The Flash and is expected to lose upwards of $200 million on the film. Although The Flash was hotly-anticipated by the DC fandom, with many celebrities -- such as Tom Cruise and Stephen King -- also publicly voicing their support for the film, it failed to leave an impact at the worldwide box office. The Flash recently ended its theatrical run with a final global tally of $268 million. The DC Extended Universe film's abysmal box office performance just barely surpassed the lowest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe film -- 2008's The Incredible Hulk ($264 million).
The Flash did perform better than some of its DCEU predecessors. The film is currently the fifth lowest-grossing installment in the shared universe, ahead of Birds of Prey ($205M), Wonder Woman 1984 ($169M), The Suicide Squad ($168M) and Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($133M). The Flash is also expected to best the final box office tally of Blue Beetle, which opened in theaters last Friday. The film, which stars Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle, has currently grossed $43.6 million worldwide.
In The Flash, the Scarlet Speedster travels back in time to prevent the death of his mother only to create an alternate timeline in which General Zod (Michael Shannon) has arrived to transform Earth into a new Krypton and there is no Superman to stop him. Instead, The Flash must coax a very different Batman (Michael Keaton) out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian (Sasha Calle) if he hopes to save the world and fix the timeline before it's too late.
Directed by Andy Muschietti, The Flash is currently available to rent or own on Digital. The film will debut on the streaming service Max on Aug. 25 and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 29.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter