The Flash Gets a Surprising CinemaScore
The Flash is stumbling at the box office and the highly-anticipated DC movie's below-expectations projections match its surprisingly low CinemaScore rating. Moviegoers polled by CinemaScore awarded the film a B score. That doesn't sound terrible, but it's on par with other superhero movies that underperformed at the box office, including Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Eternals, and DC's Green Lantern and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Reviews from critics are similarly mixed, with The Flash's Rotten Tomatoes score barely above the line between "Fresh" and "Rotten". ComicBook.com's Jenna Anderson reviewed The Flash and awarded it a score of 3-out-of-5. She writes:
"After years of being a proverbial white whale in the realm of superhero movies, The Flash finally exists in an undoubtedly fun, but somewhat inconsequential way. The movie's liveliness is infectious, and there are some genuinely unbelievable moments on display, but that might not be enough to fully cement it as a legendary part of DC's canon. Whether on the screen or on the page, Barry Allen's adventure is far from over – and, in one way or another, The Flash movie will always be a one-of-a-kind chapter of that."
The Flash reviews
The Flash has had a long and troubled journey to get into theaters and is debuting with a relatively low-profile press tour due to recent controversy surrounding its star, Ezra Miller, who first debuted in the role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Adding to that trouble is the confusion about where The Flash stand in the DC cinematic canon. Some fans see it as the last gasping breath of the DC Extended Universe that began with Man of Steel and are unsure if and how it fits into the future plans of new DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, despite their high praise of the movie, and even with Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom still to come this year.
To provide further context with The Flash's DC peers, those with the highest ratings from CinemaScore are Wonder Woman and Shazam, which both earned A ratings. Man of Steel, Aquaman, and The Batman came out with A- ratings. Suicide Squad, The Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, Black Adam, and Shazam: Fury of the Gods all managed B+ ratings. It's unclear which parts of the movie didn't resonate with CinemaScore's audiences, though criticism of the movie's visual effects has been common. It also may in part be Miller's reputation hanging over the film.
The Flash speeds into theaters on June 16th, promising to reshape the DC Multiverse with the help of familiar faces and brand-new heroes. Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) ventures to the past to change history, resulting in massive repercussions for the future. Forced to team up with another version of Barry, the mysterious Kryptonian known as Supergirl (Sasha Calle), and the iconic Batman (Michael Keaton), the Scarlet Speedster is forced to reckon with his mistakes and save a doomed reality. The Flash is directed by Andy Muschietti, written by Christina Hodson from a story by Joby Harold, and produced by Barbara Muschietti.