Box Office: Ezra Miller’s ‘The Flash’ Faces Problems, Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Gets Iced Out

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Such was the chorus across Hollywood on Saturday morning as opening weekend estimates circulated for the highly anticipated DC The flash and Pixar Elementary, which are debuting nationwide over the long Juneteenth holiday weekend. (Sunday is also Father’s Day.)

Starring Ezra Miller in the lead role, Warner Bros. and DC’s The flash it appears to be grossing $58 million to $60 million for the three-day weekend and $70 million or less for the four days. The superhero tentpole had been hoping for a three-day start of at least $70 million so as to arrive ahead of DC titles like Black Adamwhich raised $67 million in its first three days.

The flash it earned $24.5 million on Friday, including $9.7 million in previews.

The studio leadership went overboard The flash for months, with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav proclaiming it’s the greatest superhero movie he’s ever seen. Many critics disagree with the assessment; the photo currently has a 67% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. A bigger problem: Audiences gave the film a mediocre B CinemaScore (as a way of comparison, Elementary received an A).

While superhero fare often heavily skews male, The flash it’s still more than usual so far, or 73 percent.

Box office experts believe Ezra Miller’s off-screen issues are affecting the film’s performance. Miller was arrested multiple times in 2022 and has been the subject of several controversies, culminating in the actor releasing a statement in August of last year apologizing for their behavior and saying he would receive help with “complex problems of mental health”. Miller walked the red carpet at the film’s premiere but was otherwise absent from advertising The flash.

Competition from Sony’s ownership Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is another problem for The flashas well as for Elementary by some degree. Now in its third weekend, the animated Spidey movie could earn as much as $27 million. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and another Fast competitor.

In the Andy Muschietti-directed film, Miller stars in dual roles as alternate timeline versions of heroic speedster Barry Allen, with Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck making a sensational return in their respective Batman roles (in Keaton’s case, he’s a who hasn’t played since 1991). Sasha Calle plays Supergirl, while Michael Shannon reprises his role of General Zod from the 2013 film Man of Steel.

DC mattered a lot The flash to improve his position after the tepid performance of Shazam! Fury of the Gods AND Black Adam.

Ditto for Pixar, which has Elementary opening this weekend. Based on Friday’s earnings of $11.8 million, the family film is expected to gross $28 million to $32 million over the three days, which is the lowest or second-lowest debut ever for a Pixar title since History of the toy it started with $29 million nearly three decades ago, not adjusted for inflation.

The hope now is that Elementary will leverage its A CinemaScore into long legs at the box office.

Directed by Peter Sohn (The good dinosaur), Elementary is set in Element City, where the inhabitants of fire, water, earth and air coexist. The film’s themes include connection, celebrating differences, and finding one’s place in the world.

The story follows Ember (Leah Lewis), a tough, witty and fiery young woman whose friendship with a saccharine boy named Wade (Mamoudou Athie) challenges her beliefs about the world they live in, where “the elements don’t mix.”

One bright spot at the box office this weekend is Wes Anderson City of Asteroids, which will launch in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The Focus Features film is expected to average a three-day theatrical run of $120,403, its best specialty box office showing since Parasite in 2019. The estimated four-day rank average is $134,411.