Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)’s “The Flash” sold wildly at the box office in the first three weekends of its opening day, securing only $55 million for its domestic premiere, disappointing modest expectations. $70 million.
this over the years defended The film was shown at early screenings while also highlighting the company’s DC revamp.
“DC is the biggest value creation opportunity for us,” Zaslav said in February, directly referring to the new movies “Superman” and “Batman” due out in 2025, as well as the movie “The Flash.”
But compared to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, the series has clearly struggled. This may be an example of the consumer confusion that has taken hold as filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran reset DC.
“Anything that could go wrong inherently went wrong at the box office,” Sean Robbins, principal analyst at Box Office Pro, told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday. “There was a lot of industry buzz, especially over the summer, but in the end, the reviews, word of mouth, and general consumer confusion about the DC series actually worked against the film.”
Late last year, Zaslav revealed that director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran were nearing completion of a “bible” regarding the future of the DC series.
“Part of our strategy is to get them out of Washington, D.C. completely,” the executive said in a conversation with RBC Capital Markets analyst Qutgun Malal. “This is one of the biggest opportunities for this company.”
Robbins, however, said that DC’s reboot has left moviegoers at a loss, criticizing the disjointed nature of the DC movie universe.
“In general, it lacked the continuity that a general audience could follow like a Marvel movie…[Movie watchers] I don’t know how to react to each movie,” the analyst explained, citing “Shazam.” Equally disappointing debut in spring. “What the franchise needs is a break and as much of a blank slate as possible. Warner Bros. should allow James Gunn, Peter Safran and DC to essentially go back to zero.” . [but] It will be a difficult challenge.”
Robbins added that consumer confusion is likely to continue for years to come, but that it will ultimately come down to film quality over time.
Has Pixar lost that “factor”?
Disney’s Pixar film “Elemental” also struggled at the box office, grossing just $29.5 million domestically on the weekend, making it the worst opening in Pixar’s 28-year history.
“It’s like DC, it’s hard going home. [for Pixar]” Robbins pointed to the studio’s recent predicament.
Last summer, Pixar’s “Toy Story” prequel “Lightyear” also underperformed, securing just $51 million in domestic premieres before making a disastrous $118 million in theaters ahead of Disney+’s rushed release. record box office revenue.
Most recently, the animated movie Strange World, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quad, received dismal reviews on its opening day during Thanksgiving week, reportedly costing the company $200 million. . one of the worst flops in 2022.
He added that it will take time for Pixar to return to its glory days, especially as Disney’s target demographic, especially parents, have come to expect Disney+ to be able to watch these movies at home.
Disney shares fell about 1.5% on Tuesday’s box office results, while Warner Bros. Discovery shares fell about 5%.
Alexandra Canal Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. follow her on her twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, Email alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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