According to studio estimations, DC and Warner Bros.’ long-awaited superhero film “The Flash” grossed $55 million in its first three days in North American theaters.
Though a big increase over DC’s previous movie, the “Shazam!” sequel, and enough for a first-place start, it’s nevertheless muted by superhero standards, where $100 million premiere weekends are nearly usual. Pixar had its lowest three-day opening ever this weekend with a $29.5 million debut for “Elemental.”
Overall, it was a busy weekend at the multiplex. Along with “The Flash” and “Elemental,” the horror-comedy “The Blackening” debuted. Wes Anderson’s spectacular “Asteroid City” garnered $720,000 from just six theatres and the distinction of having the highest per-theater average ($132,211) since the pandemic began.
More obstacles awaited “The Flash” than market conditions. Along with “The Flash” and “Elemental,” the horror-comedy “The Blackening” debuted. It has frequently made news in the previous year, not because of the film itself, but because of its star, Ezra Miller’s, off-screen problems, which have included arrests, unpredictable behaviour, and claims of misconduct.
Miller has apologized and stated that he and his wife are receiving mental health therapy. Except for the premiere, they also declined to participate in the usual press tour.
Michael Keaton as Batman in The Flash
The studio’s leadership remained optimistic about the $200 million film’s release, confident in its quality and significance to future DC Studios plots. The film establishes the universe, allowing Michael Keaton’s Batman to reappear in a film that also included Ben Affleck’s Batman.
Analysts predicted that “The Flash” would earn at least $70 million in its first three days, despite playing at 4,234 sites across the country. It is now expected to earn $64 million in its first four weeks, including Monday’s Juneteenth holiday. It made $75 million internationally, giving it a $139 million global start.
“I think Warners did a fantastic job of dealing with the situation they had,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “It’s a fascinating case study of what can happen when the title character of a major motion picture is embroiled in public controversies.” However, it is difficult to reverse engineer it to determine what effect it may have had.”
Another impediment was that some of the key promotional sources — late night talk shows — were still closed due to the Writers Strike. Also, knowing that DC is having a huge reset, fans may have decided to move on and wait.
Critics were split, although the film received a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite some “breezily clever and entertaining” moments, the AP’s Jocelyn Noveck said in her review that “the final act bogs down in what feels like an endless, generic CGI battle and a kitchen-sink resolution.”
Audiences polled for CinemaScore only awarded the film a B, which has historically not been good news for word-of-mouth and longevity.
However, there is a bit of a break in the schedule before the next major movie, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which releases on June 30. The biggest releases next week are the R-rated Jennifer Lawrence comedy “No Hard Feelings” and the nationwide expansion of “Asteroid City.”
“Elemental” receives positive reviews
“Elemental” came in second with an estimated $29.5 million from 4,035 North American sites, a new low for Pixar’s three-day openers. Previously, the honour belonged to “The Good Dinosaur” and “Onward,” both of which debuted at $39 million.” Pixar’s previous lows were “The Good Dinosaur” and “Onward,” both of which debuted at $39 million.
“Elemental” received positive reviews from reviewers (76% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (A CinemaScore). According to the Associated Press’ Jake Coyle, it’s “probably in the lower half” of the Pixar canon, but because it’s “sincere and clever, with a splash of dazzle,” it “comes closer to rekindling some of the old Pixar magic than some recent entries.” “Elemental” grossed $44.5 million worldwide, including $15 million from 17 international regions.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” came in third place with $27.8 million in its third weekend. Sony anticipates that its domestic total will have reached $285 million by Monday.
It’s probable that Spider-Man’s powerful holding power — backed by positive reviews and word of mouth — ate into “Elemental’s” premiere, according to Dergarabedian. Both are rated PG-13.
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” fell 67% in its second weekend, adding $20 million to finish fourth. “The Little Mermaid” finished fifth in its fourth weekend with $11.6 million.
The Blackening grossed $6 million
“The Blackening” was the other big release this weekend, providing some counter programming to the bigger branded releases with an original horror-comedy about a bunch of Black friends who get together for a weekend away and end up on the run from a killer.
After receiving great reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, Lionsgate and MRC purchased the $5 million film from director Tim Story. “The Blackening” grossed an estimated $6 million in 1,775 theatres.
“This is a fantastic weekend for movie theatres because there’s a depth and breadth of content that’s amazing, but that means they’re sharing the wealth,” Dergarabedian said. “The overall box office was extremely strong.” However, it is creating a highly competitive climate.”
“Asteroid City” was an undeniable highlight of the limited edition. To assist entice crowds, Focus Features set up “Asteroid City” pop-up experiences in theatres in New York and Los Angeles.
“Wes Anderson is the pinnacle of genre film-making.” “He’s the Marvel,” said Lisa Bunnell, president of distribution at Focus. “This is a great shot in the arm for art theatres.”
Next week, “Asteroid City” expands from 6 to around 1,500 theatres.
“After COVID, we’re trying to do things that are out of the box,” Bunnell explained. “We feel like you need a new playbook to get speciality films back on track.”
Comscore estimates ticket sales for Friday through Sunday for US and Canadian theatres. The final domestic data will be provided on Monday.
