For the most part, HBO Max is the home for DC movies, including everything from the classic Christopher Reeve movies to the DCEU to James Gunn’s Superman. However, just like with Marvel, every now and then some of them will end up on Netflix, as well. And right now, one of the final entries of the DCEU canon is doing quite well on the streamer. And it’s a win the film needed, because it was one of the final four for the cinematic universe, all of which came out in 2023 and all of which either underperformed or outright flopped.
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Specifically, Blue Beetle, which debuted one August 18, 2023, and managed to net only $130.8 million worldwide against a price tag upwards of $125 million. It was never going to be the DCEU’s highest-grossing movies, but it’s much better than its status as the lowest-grossing movie of the franchise would serve to indicate.
Why Did Blue Beetle Flop & How Is It Doing on Netflix?
The DCEU essentially faltered from the start. Man of Steel did well enough, but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, while one of 2016’s highest-grossing movies, still should have done better. It was also incredibly dour, as was the genuinely successful (but atrocious) Suicide Squad later that same year. Wonder Woman did well in 2017, but Justice League again shook the foundation. Aquaman was the last true hit for the franchise, with Shazam! being only moderately successful and Birds of Prey outright failing, even though it’s one of the best films of the universe.
Wonder Woman 1984 also failed though, like Birds of Prey, it fell victim to the COVID era. The Suicide Squad was the true sign that people had tired of the DCEU. Even as one of the best superhero movies ever made, it flopped. Black Adam sealed the deal on the franchise, as it was a slight tonal change with a big lead star that nonetheless came and went. It was shortly after Black Adam that it was announced the DCEU would soon be a thing of the past, so all four scheduled 2023 movies had an even more steep uphill battle to fight.
Other factors contributed to the film’s fall outside the dwindling interest in its overarching franchise. One was the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes, another was the fact that not many had heard of the title character, and a third was the arrival of Hurricane Hilary.
However, when Gunn and Peter Safran announced their new DCU, it was mentioned that Blue Beetle (and his portrayer, Xolo Maridueña) would carry forward into the new semi-adjacent cinematic universe. Not necessarily the specific events of the film, but its take on the character, according to Gunn.
Now that Blue Beetle is in the Top 10 movies on Netflix in the United States, it could serve as an indication that there is indeed interest in continuing his story in the DCU. There is an animated series on the way, with Maridueña teasing a 2026 release date in February 2025, but there hasn’t been but so much forward momentum on that since then. It likely is still coming, so if that’s a hit (which seems more likely now that the film has found an audience on streaming), it should dovetail into another live action movie.
Would you like to see a second Blue Beetle movie, one that’s fully canon in the DCU? Let us know in the comments.
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