Box Office: ‘The Flash’ Paces Itself With $24.5 Million Opening Day, Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Doesn’t Catch Fire

Nine years after it was first announced, “The Flash” has finally dashed into theaters, speeding toward a debut ahead of the box office competition. But the DC Studios film isn’t exactly matching the lightning pace of its superhero.

The Warner Bros. release got started with $24.5 million from 4,234 locations on opening day, which includes $9.7 million in Thursday previews. That’s enough to set the Ezra Miller film on a surefire pathway to a No. 1 debut on domestic charts, but it’ll be tough for it to match projections heading into the weekend — bullish ones predicted a four-day bow as high as $85 million through the Juneteenth holiday.

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“The Flash” is debuting in the same weight class as DC peers “Black Adam” (2022) and “Aquaman” (2018), which both opened to $67 million. “Aquaman” found strong staying power through its holiday season release, finishing with $335 million in North America. Last year’s Dwayne Johnson vehicle fell lower on the hierarchy of power, ending with $168 million. Naturally, Warner Bros. would like “The Flash,” which was directed by Andy Muschietti and cost $200 million to produce before a hefty promotional blitz, to perform closer to the oceanic adventure.

Even so, it’s difficult to imagine that expectations weren’t a bit higher for the film, which has led with its multiverse premise in the marketing — all the rage these days, and leveraged to a smash box office opening by Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” just two weeks ago. Beyond the titular scarlet speedster, the film also features not one, but two Batmen (Ben Affleck, who featured in Zack Snyder’s recent DC films; plus Michael Keaton, reprising his role from Tim Burton’s blockbusters after 31 years). There’s also a new Supergirl (Sasha Calle), a resurrected Superman villain (Michael Shannon, returning from Snyder’s “Man of Steel”) and the unspoken promise of a cavalcade of cameos.

Of course, Warner Bros. faced a tricky situation in forging a marketing strategy for its mega-budget superhero monster mash that didn’t include its main star. Miller, who stars as Barry Allen and has been waiting in the wings for this solo film since making a cameo in 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” has faced a series of legal issues and troubling allegations over recent years. After pleading guilty to a misdemeanor unlawful trespass and issuing an apology, the actor has remained out of the spotlight in recent months, only offering their first public comments in years at the premiere of “The Flash” this week.

Couple that predicament with a troubled development timeline, which saw more directors attached than a person could count on one hand, and “The Flash” always seemed like a bit of a long shot as a potential four-quadrant crowdpleaser. Reviews haven’t been strong — the film earned a 49% approval rating from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote that “the movie, after a smart and playful first half, gives itself over to comic-book bombast.”

What’s more urgently concerning for “The Flash” is audience sentiment; the film landed a “B” grade through research firm Cinema Score. That indicates some mixed feelings among the first round of ticket buyers, whose prioritization to see the movie means they would be more inclined to enjoy it than most. Superhero films are often expected to earn grades in the “A” range; even films that have been widely regarded as box office disappointments, such as “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Black Adam,” landed “B+” grades. With the summer blockbuster season staying crowded, there could be some choppy waters ahead for “The Flash.”

While “The Flash” seems unlikely to match its opening projections, it’s not the most hard-pressed new release of the weekend. Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” which follows a flame woman and a watery man that develop some chemistry with one another, is looking at a debut below $30 million through Sunday after earning $11.8 million from 4,035 theaters on opening day.

That would mark the lowest three-day opening in the history of Pixar, falling well short of the $39 million that met “The Good Dinosaur” and “Onward.” When “The Good Dinosaur” opened in 2015, the film was seen as the first box office disappointment in the animation studio’s history. “Elemental” represents an even tougher licking, following last summer’s flop of “Lightyear,” which finished with $226 million worldwide against a $200 million production budget. Before that, Disney released Pixar’s three previous features (“Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red”) directly on Disney+ — a move that studio chief Pete Docter believes “trained” Pixar audiences to stay away from theaters.

“Elemental” will struggle to outperform the third outing of Columbia and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Across the Spider-Verse”; the Pixar film be looking at a bronze finish on domestic charts through the weekend.

The “Spider-Man” entry earned $8.1 million on Friday — an impressive 51% drop from seven days before. “Across the Spider-Verse” should push its domestic total to $286 million through Monday. It’s already the third-highest grossing North American release of the year — a finish above “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which holds second place at $339 million, is definitely in the cards.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” looks to fall to fourth place in its sophomore outing, projecting a $19.6 million haul through the three-day frame. That’d mark a hefty 68% drop from the Paramount tentpole’s opening. The film is still tracking ahead of series predecessors “The Last Knight” and “Bumblebee” — which finished with $130 million and $127 million, respectively — but it isn’t exactly mounting a return to the franchise’s heyday as a box office juggernaut.

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” remake should land in fifth place after earning $3.7 million on Friday. The underwater musical is looking at a $12 million gross through the three-day frame, pushing its domestic total to $256 million in its fourth weekend. After matching the pace of 2019’s “Aladdin” remake through its first few weeks, “Mermaid” is slowing down a hair — “Aladdin” had grossed $264 million through the same stretch of time.

Also opening this weekend, Lionsgate and MRC’s “The Blackening” earned $2.55 million on opening day in 1,775 locations. The horror comedy looks to land within projections, which pegged a four-day debut between $6 million and $8 million. That’d only be enough for a sixth place finish on domestic charts, but “The Blackening” is a modest bet for the studios. Produced under a $5 million budget, the Tim Story-directed feature was acquired out of the Toronto International Film Festival following a buzzy midnight screening. Reviews are very positive and audience kudos are high, as indicated by the “B+” Cinema Score grade (that’s solid for a horror film).

In limited release, Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” is projected to launch into orbit with a spectacular $720,000 from six locations through the three-day frame. That’d mark a $120,000 per-theater-average, the highest since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020, blasting beyond the $86,289 figure earned by “Licorice Pizza” around Thanksgiving 2021. It’s an impressive showing for Anderson, who has grown a devoted following over the years and whose 2021 feature, “The French Dispatch,” represented the arthouse scene’s first true attempt at a box office rebound after lockdowns.

Per-theater-average isn’t everything, of course. A24’s “Beau Is Afraid” drew a spectacular $80,099 figure in its limited opening this spring, but ultimately bombed in expansion, earning just $8 million domestically against a $35 million production budget. “Asteroid City” will look to maintain stronger momentum as the quirked-up sci-fi ensemble comedy broadens its theatrical footprint next weekend.

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