After two full weekends of a decidedly underwhelming release, it’s not hyperbole to say “The Flash” is an unmitigated box office disaster for Warner Bros. Discovery. This is a somewhat shocking result when you consider WBD CEO David Zaslav has been shouting from the mountaintops for weeks now that “The Flash” is the best superhero film he’s ever seen. And in the lead-up to its release, we’ve also heard from various other folks involved in the film, as well as new DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, echoing those sentiments all over social media. Alas, “The Flash” is on pace to lose close to $200 million during its box office run, and it’s the latest black eye the studio has received courtesy of its checkered superhero film history.
But that’s okay because James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken over DC Studios, and they have already announced a plan to reboot the superhero film universe and start fresh, right? Who cares about the failures of “The Flash,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” and “Black Adam,” right? These movies are from the previous regime, and surely, they shouldn’t affect what Gunn and Safran have coming in 2025 with “Superman: Legacy. I mean, they just cast David Corenswet as Superman, someone the fans have been begging to get the job since ‘Legacy’ was announced. All of this will long be forgotten by July 2025, right? Right?!
Well, obviously, Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios’ own Gunn and Safran hope that’ll be the case. Still, the truth is, a studio can’t constantly fall flat on its face with massive misfires for several years in a row and hope the audience won’t notice. Moviegoers are more intelligent than that, and the truth is, in 2023, the DC film brand is at the lowest point it’s likely ever been, and it’s only getting worse. Yes, we’re talking darker times than the “Justice League” fiasco back in 2017. Even before one of their projects is even released, James Gunn and Peter Safran are fighting an uphill battle.
Out of all of the DC films released since 2019, there are only two real success stories— “Joker” and “The Batman.” What do those have in common? Both are Elseworlds tales (meaning they don’t exist in the shared cinematic universe) and are directed by auteurs with a strong take on the material. When you take those out of the discussion, you’re left with seven films that all flopped or severely underperformed either with critics or at the box office (or, in several cases, both).
While the Margot Robbie-starring “Birds of Prey” severely underwhelmed and “Wonder Woman 1984” and “The Suicide Squad” were arguably victims of the pandemic, the real problems began with “Black Adam” last fall. This is a film with one of the biggest stars in the world (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). A star who has been promoting this film for literal years on his massive social media platforms. This is a guy who is, typically one of the most bankable names in Hollywood. However, when “Black Adam” was released, the film bombed hard ($393 million worldwide and only 38% on Rotten Tomatoes), and not even a spoiled cameo from Henry Cavill’s Superman could save it.
Then it was announced that Gunn and Safran were taking over, and the new DC Studios was created with a reveal of the next dozen or so projects (five TV projects and five films) that will exist in a rebooted cinematic universe (the new DCU). While this announcement was celebrated by fans and pundits (though there were some who were upset over the quick and unceremonious dismissal of Henry Cavill), who believe that Gunn is the type of creator who can get the stories right and Safran is a producer with the right business acumen to keep things afloat, it also created a massive issue for the four DC film releases in 2023. Basically, Warner Bros. Discovery and the new DC Studios created a lame-duck universe that is of no consequence to the future.
As we now know, that means fans completely disregarded “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” ($134 million worldwide) and now, “The Flash.” It also leads almost everyone to believe the upcoming “Blue Beetle” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” are both bound to be DOA. Thankfully, WB doesn’t have any major DC films scheduled for release in 2024 (there’s Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux,” but we can file that under Elseworlds). But before “Superman: Legacy” arrives in theaters in July 2025, we are looking at the very real possibility of five straight real box office disasters for the brand. (Even more, if you take into consideration the aforementioned “Birds of Prey,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” and “The Suicide Squad” floppage.)
All that to say, fan confidence in the DC brand, in terms of feature films, is really going to be at an all-time low by 2025. It’s not a clean slate like James Gunn, and Peter Safran will be hoping for. Not only will “Superman: Legacy” have to usher in a new take on Superman, a new cinematic universe with brand-new characters, and a new vision for what a DC film looks like under the Gunn/Safran regime, but it will also have to contend with a general public who arguably see the DC logo and thinks, “DC films are terrible, no thanks.” At least, right now, they seem to.
No, it’s not fair to Gunn and Safran. And it’s unfair to the casts and crews of the new projects hoping to build something special. But it’s the ugly truth, and it only puts into sharper focus how DC is just not at all equal to Marvel and all that they’ve achieved. After years of negative headlines (the “Justice League” drama, Ezra Miller’s alleged crimes, the shelving of “Batgirl,” etc.,…), box office failures, and poor reviews, the DC brand is tarnished.
It’ll also be interesting to see just how much slack Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is willing to give Gunn and Safran. We’ve seen at various times during his relatively short run as CEO that Zaslav is not scared to take drastic measures if things start to affect the bottom line. After a year of poorly received DC films, followed by a year of mostly inactivity, will Zaslav be willing to give the new DC Studios time to build? The DC brand is perhaps the biggest source of IP at WBD right now. What’s the box office number that Gunn needs to hit for ‘Legacy’ to be deemed a success? Is $500 million enough? $750 million? $1 billion? We just don’t know. And if it underperforms, will the carefully crafted plan by Gunn, with films like “Swamp Thing,” “The Authority,” and “Booster Gold” get replaced by quick sequels for “Wonder Woman” and other more well-known properties?
That seems like an insane amount of pressure for one film, but it makes sense to put it all on ‘Legacy.’ Not only is it the first film in this new universe created by Gunn, but it is also written and directed by the co-CEO. Essentially, the filmmaker is putting all his eggs in one basket. He is carrying the new DCU on his back, for better or worse.
Obviously, all of this speculation doesn’t mean that the new DCU is doomed to fail. For all we know, ‘Legacy’ could be a really great, acclaimed film and turn things around quickly. Maybe Gunn’s creative vision for the future is just what is needed to turn the tide. But for that to happen, Gunn and Safran will likely need their own capes to make it work because it won’t be easy.
It’s a long wait until “Superman: Legacy” arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.
