James Gunn’s First True DCU Project Blue Beetle Has Lowest Ever Box Office Opening in DC Universe – Who are the Top 5?
DC Studios roped in James Gunn and Peter Safran to oversee successful adaptations of DC Comic books characters and create a prominent cinematic universe after the failure of the DC Extended Universe to take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There’s plenty of time before the first DCU movie hits the theaters as Gunn continues to implement his new creative vision before rolling out the carpet for Superman: Legacy in 2025. However, the first DCU character is finally here.
Angel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle has long been confirmed as the first DCU superhero, with Gunn insisting the powerful beetle will be an amazing part of the DCU going forward.
James Gunn’s First DCU Superhero Blue Beetle Fails at the Box Office
Blue Beetle, which features Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes, in a way kick-starts James Gunn‘s true vision for his refined DC Universe. However, early reactions at the box office paint a very dull picture of whatever the filmmaker is trying to do at DC Studios.
The story that follows the journey of a college graduate who obtains extraordinary powers and responsibilities after being bestowed with a suit of armor through an alien scarab has not been able to attract audiences in millions to theaters, managing to garner just $25.4 Million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend.
The movie cost more than $100 million to produce and it will have to go on a magical run from hereon to vindicate the producer’s backing of the project. For now, though, all things point to it being a fourth straight DC flop for Warner Bros after Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and The Flash.
In fact, considering domestic opening weekend totals of all its counterparts the Maridueña starrer sits at the very bottom. Well, at least Blue Beetle can celebrate the fact it became the first movie (in four weekends) to topple Barbie from the top position.
The 5 Biggest Opening Weekend DCEU Movies
Blue Beetle‘s team can point out several reasons behind its underwhelming performance, including the failure to promote the movie appropriately due to the ongoing 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. In a statement in July, the Cobra Kai star said “We need to stand on the right side of history” while explaining his decision not to promote the movie.
However, the DCEU as a franchise has simply failed to go toe-to-toe with the MCU, and the earnings of all its movies are quite unremarkable when compared with the eye-watering numbers of Marvel Studios’ biggest projects. Only a few manage to hold a candle.
The highest-grossing DCEU movie at the opening weekend to date remains Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, posting a total of $170 million. It is then followed by Suicide Squad (133 million).
All DCEU domestic opening weekend totals
Man of Steel – $116M
BVS – $170M
Suicide Squad – $133M
WW – $103M
JL – $94M
Aquaman – $72M
Shazam – $53M
Birds of Prey – $34M
WW84 – $16.7M
The Suicide Squad – $26M
Black Adam – $67M
Shazam 2 – $30.5M
The Flash – $55M
Blue Beetle – $25.4M pic.twitter.com/6moUlXzMpr— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 20, 2023
The very first DCEU movie, Man of Steel, featuring Henry Cavill, opened with a collection of $116M and sits third on the list. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman made plenty of positive headlines (the less said about its sequel the better, though) and booked the fourth spot by grossing $103M.
Zack Snyder directed Justice League is the fifth most successful movie ($94m) in the franchise, but it failed to cross the $100m mark in its opening weekend. All Things considered, it’s pretty disappointing for DC Studios that only four of its DCEU movies took home more than $100m at the domestic opening weekend.
Blue Beetle is playing in theatres now.
Source: DiscussingFilm
