DC and Warner Bros.' long-in-the-works superhero movie The Flash opened to $55 million in its first three days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Though a fair amount of money by normal standards, a sizable jump from DC's last release, the Shazam! sequel, and enough for a first-place start, it's muted by superhero standards for which $100 million debut weekends are almost commonplace. It was a crowded weekend at the multiplex overall. In addition to The Flash, there was the new Pixar family film Elemental and the horror-comedy The Blackening. The only big win was Wes Anderson’s starry Asteroid City, which earned $720,000 from just six theaters and the distinction of having the highest per-theater average—$132,211—since the start of the pandemic.
The $200 million movie introduces the multiverse, which allowed for the return of Michael Keaton's Batman in a movie that also had Ben Affleck's Batman. Internationally, it made $75 million, giving it a $139 million global start. Critics were mixed but more positive than not, with a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. AP's Jocelyn Noveck wrote in her review that despite some "breezily clever and entertaining" moments, "the final act bogs down in what feels like an endless, generic CGI battle and a kitchen-sink resolution." Audiences polled for CinemaScore only gave the film a B, which has not historically been great news for word-of-mouth potential and longevity.
Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
- The Flash, $55 million.
- Elemental, $29.5 million.
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, $27.8 million.
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, $20 million.
- The Little Mermaid, $11.6 million.
- The Blackening, $6 million.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, $5 million.
- The Boogeyman, $3.8 million.
- Fast X, $2 million.
- Adipurush, $1.6 million.
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