The Flash is a very important project for DC Studios' future, begging the question of how much the film cost to produce and what box office returns it needs to be considered successful. As James Gunn outlined in his DCU announcement in January 2023, The Flash will serve as the bridge between the old DCEU and the new-look DC Studios. The film will star Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, reprising their role from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League, Zack Snyder's Justice League, and Peacemaker.
Given the links to so many prior DCEU films and its status as a reset of the entire universe, The Flash is incredibly important for DC in film. Similarly, the movie has had a somewhat troubled production due to multiple director changes and earlier versions of The Flash, Miller's legal issues, and delays thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. For these reasons, many are questioning the film's production budget, and what box office The Flash needs to earn in order to be classed as a success for Warner Bros. Pictures.
The Flash Movie's Budget Was Around $220 Million
Concerning the budget for The Flash, the number may be surprising in comparison to former DCEU efforts. The aforementioned issues that plagued The Flash's production before director Andy Muschietti's involvement have led many to assume the production budget for the film will be sky-high. However, CBC stated during an interview with production designer Paul Austerberry that The Flash has a budget of around $220 million, less than prior DCEU projects such as Man of Steel ($225 million), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($250 million), and the incredibly troubled production of Justice League ($300 million).
While $220 million is still a high budget, the number may be smaller than many were expecting. The reason for this comes from the quick director changes early in the film's production. Unlike Justice League, for example, The Flash had not begun filming under any of its previous directors. Former directors like Seth Grahame-Smith, Rick Famuyiwa, and the dual-filmmakers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein all departed the project during the script-writing stage, meaning little money was spent on production. As a result, The Flash has a somewhat bloated budget yet still ranks below the most expensive superhero movies ever made.
How Much The Flash Needs For Box Office Success
Due to the budget of The Flash, the film needs to earn a fair amount to be considered a box office success. While the production budget of $220 million seems like it could be eclipsed by The Flash's box office returns, the other, unstated elements of the film's budget mean The Flash will need to earn around double this amount to break even. Oftentimes, aspects such as marketing and distribution costs result in Hollywood productions from big franchises needing to earn twice their production budget to begin earning a profit. As a result, The Flash will need to earn a minimum of around $400-$450 million to break even.
How Much Will The Flash Make At The Box Office?
This begs the question of how much The Flash will actually earn at the box office, and if it will be considered a success at all. While it is impossible to guess how the film will perform, The Flash's opening weekend box office predictions can be used to form an educated guess. Based on early projections, The Flash is expected to earn anywhere between $70-$75 million domestically in its opening weekend. This could come as a disappointment to Warner Bros., with the studio likely seeing The Flash as a safe bet in terms of its 2023 releases.
Despite being a somewhat low opening weekend for a superhero film, some elements could mean The Flash will earn back its budget. The first is the rave reviews the film has been receiving from early screenings. If the film opens to similar hype, the strong reviews and word-of-mouth could lead to a bigger-than-expected opening weekend, or longevity at the box office. Similarly, the film could have a strong opening weekend in other territories outside of the US and Canada, boosting the overall returns in its opening period.
Finally, other DCEU projects have proven to perform well overall on a similar opening. Aquaman is still the DCEU's highest-grossing film to date, earning a worldwide total of around $1.1 billion at the box office. Despite this, the film only opened to around $73 million, the lowest for any DCEU movie. This just goes to show that opening weekends do not define a film's success, and The Flash's positive reactions could spur the movie to earn more than early projections. With that being said, The Flash should be expected to earn upwards of $600 million worldwide providing it has box office longevity, hopefully proving a success for DC Studios' future.
Source: CBC
