'The Flash' Enters The Max Stream Force
Warner Bros.' biggest crashpoint heads to streaming in shame.
Well, it’s Flash time, whether you’re ready or not. After a truly disastrous box office run, Warner Bros. and DC Studios’s The Flash limps to its streaming debut. It will arrive on Max on August 25, just a week out from the announcement.
Opening on June 16, the film starred Ezra Miller as Barry Allen aka the Flash. $55.1 million over its first three days domestically, and $64M over the extended weekend as it happened to be Juneteenth. It had poor word of mouth due to plot craziness and poor visual effects, that its performance tapered off quickly and recently finished its time in theaters earning only $268 million, losing the studio over $200 million, which was also reportedly its budget. Even its ending doesn’t bring the universal reboot to usher in the new DC Universe that most expected it to be, as its partial inspiration did.
August 25 is 70 days since June 16. That’s two weeks shorter than Black Adam, but brings it about as long as the gap for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which took 67 days to reach Max as it was being held as a relaunch title. A midweek relaunch at that, accounting for the three days shorter than an even Friday-to-Friday stretch. Paramount has stuck with 45-day windows while Disney has returned to 90 days. If Warner Bros. sticks to such 70-day window for Barbie, recently announced to be coming to Max this fall, it should be expected for September 29.
The film was highly praised in the leadup to release, but that is believed to be damage control, as Miller had felony burglary charges last August for breaking into a southern Vermont home and stealing alcohol. This was amid a host of other horrific and troubling issues including disorderly conduct, and accusations of assault and grooming minors. On top of that, the highly unpopular new ownership at Warner Bros. Discovery put all its faith into this film while writing off Batgirl entirely for taxes, despite also featuring Michael Keaton as his Bruce Wayne/Batman and then-Oscar contender Brendan Fraser. Instead of canning the film or recasting Miller they were fully behind them, instead opting to pull them from doing press. Seeing as Miller was also playing 2013 Barry Allen in a dual role, it made all the more hurdles, if not perceived hurdles, in replacing him. Now, five weeks into an actors’ strike where the only press actors are part of is prerecorded, it makes sense how easy it was for the studio to make that choice.
The Flash was directed by Andy Muschietti, who was named director of the new DC Universe’s Batman movie The Brave and the Bold, an apparent ringing endorsement of his work. The film also starred Sasha Calle as Supergirl, the returning Michael Shannon as General Zod, Ben Affleck and Jeremy Irons as the DCEU’s Bruce Wayne/Batman and Alfred, Ron Livingston and Maribel Verdu as Barry’s parents Henry and Nora Allen, and Kiersey Clemons as Iris West.
Source: Deadline