‘The Flash’ director Andy Muschietti on why he thinks the film flopped

nme.com:

The Flash director Andy Muschietti has spoken out about why he thinks his 2023 DC movie delivered disappointing box office takings.Starring Ezra Miller as speedy hero Barry Allen, The Flash made a not-insignificant $271 million (£222 million) at the global box-office.

But with an initial filmmaking budget of $200 million (£164 million) and marketing costs on top of that, it was considered a monetary flop.Speaking on Radio Tu’s La Baulera del Coso show, the Argentinian director spoke about some potential reasons why, with the main one being that it didn’t appeal to a wide enough audience.Muschietti said: “When a movie like this comes out, there is an expectation of bringing the four quadrants of the audience.”The “four quadrants” of the movie-going audience that Muschietti says The Flash “failed” to hit are men over and under 25, and women over and under 25.

According to the director, the film’s biggest downfall was the female half, saying “I found out that many people are not interested in the Flash character, the two female quadrants.”He also cited “fatigue of the superhero genre” as a contributing factor to the film’s box office woes.Aside from the above, The Flash also had challenges around its release because it came after lead actor Miller was involved in a number of legal issues.

In October 2022, Miller pleaded not guilty to felony burglary charges in Vermont, before pleading guilty to a trespassing charge.