Blue Beetle Projected to Have Worse Box-Office Opening Than $200M Disaster The Flash as Lead Actor Refuses to Promote Movie
Blue Beetle, the highly anticipated superhero movie, is currently on track to garner a relatively modest $12-17 million during its opening weekend at the domestic box office. While not outright disappointing, the figure is considered low compared to superhero film expectations for massive box office success. The Flash, another superhero film from the DC universe, managed to impressively rake in $55 million during its domestic opening weekend. The lightning-fast hero’s story seemingly resonated with audiences, leading to a box office success that was not insignificant.
The studio’s prospects seem problematic, given the underwhelming box office performance of the two preceding DC movies this year. Despite Blue Beetle’s current projections, it’s worth noting that box office numbers can be subject to change. Over time, Word-of-mouth, positive reviews, and growing interest from audiences might potentially boost its overall earnings in the long run. As the weekend progresses, Blue Beetle‘s box office success will become clearer with more data.
Why Xolo Mariduena Refused to Promote The Movie?
Amidst the possibility of an actor and writer’s strike in Hollywood, the DCU movie is just one of several films that could potentially be affected. At this point, Xolo Mariduena and the rest of the cast would have commenced their promotional activities for the project. However, due to the uncertainty surrounding the strike, all promotion plans have been abandoned. Xolo Mariduena expressed his concern over the ongoing strike, emphasizing that it prevents him from taking part in any promotional activities for Blue Beetle. As a union actor, he must abide by rules during labor disputes, refraining from movie promotion until the strike is resolved.
“To the wonderful crew that welcomed me to this new world, thank you for your hospitality and kindness, you all are the only people for the jobs. And finally to [director Angel Manuel Soto], thank you for being the best papa out there, to have collaborated on this with you is an experience I will hold forever in my heart and I can’t wait to f**king do it again. You are my rock. To the blue beetle battalion I love y’all. See y’all in the theater.”
Mariduena expressed his disappointment about the circumstances surrounding the film’s release, as there were many great things lined up for the fans. Nevertheless, he emphasized the importance of standing on the right side of history, leading them to make certain decisions. Despite these developments, the Cobra Kai Star encouraged fans by affirming that Blue Beetle is a fantastic movie that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
Also Read: Blue Beetle Promo Confirms a New Supervillain in DCU Town
Blue Beetle is Set to Join DC’s List of Box Office Flops
If Blue Beetle follows in the footsteps of the last three DCEU films, Warner Bros will suffer a big financial loss. The ambitious production budget of Blue Beetle is reportedly around $120 million, and when considering additional marketing expenses, the movie would need to achieve a substantial box office performance of at least $250 million, and possibly even $300 million, just to break even without any profit. Although Blue Beetle benefits from a lower budget compared to Black Adam and The Flash, it still faces the challenge of outperforming the latter to reach the break-even point.
With that shocking prediction, Warner Bros reported that The Flash earned an estimated $24.5 million during its full opening day, encompassing Friday and all previews from Monday and Thursday. Despite considering the impact of Father’s Day on projections, the results indicated a growing likelihood of missing the low end of final forecasts, which had called for at least $60 million over the weekend.
With The Flash‘s earnings only covering half of the shared global grosses, it is unlikely to cover the entire $150 million marketing campaign cost. In hindsight, releasing the film on their streaming service or not releasing it at all might have resulted in a more favorable financial outcome for Warner Bros.
Blue Beetle is set to be released on August 18, 2023.
Also Read: Xolo Maridueña – How Much Did the Cobra Kai Star Make from DCU and Karate Kid
Source: CBR
