It’s no secret DC is struggling at the moment. Movie after movie bombs at the box office and nothing appears to be working. This is down to a range of issues and essentially not listening to the fans. The Flash is another prime example after Black Adam failed at the box office, as of today it’s sitting on $210m which isn’t great considering the film has been out for over 10 days now.
In terms of the DC Extended Universe, they haven’t had a phenomenal time at the box office since Aquaman’s 2018 release. Since 2020 alone, only The Batman had a good time bringing in $770m according to Box Office Mojo.
Let’s explore 5 reasons why (according to the public masses) DC films just aren’t performing anymore.
1. Poor choices of film/story
Let’s take The Flash into account here. I thought the film was great but this Flashpoint story could have been so much better. For example, it SHOULD HAVE included the Reverse Flash. After all, Reverse Flash is the reason Barry’s mother is killed – it doesn’t make a lot of sense that he wasn’t even in the film at all. You have Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Suicide Squad (2016), and Justice League (2017) all with horrifically poor stories. That’s just some that I can think of from the top of my head. This also includes a new Superman film but not giving this role to Cavill who rightfully deserves to get another shot at a solo movie. I’m excited for Blue Beetle but the universe is rich with interesting characters – they don’t utilize them. Green Lantern is one of them just completely abandoned.
2. Firing actors and keeping those who should have been fired
This is perhaps the biggest reason on this list. Let’s discuss those fired;
- Henry Cavill
- Returned as Superman in Black Adam, setting up something spectacular only for him to be sacked off. This simply pissed off many fans, including those who are not major fans of DC. If you don’t want to use Cavill as Superman, fine, but don’t tease him then do nothing with it.
- Ray Fisher
- In fairness, Ray has taken the piss in the last couple of years and continues to make himself look like a moron. At the start though, he had a very fair argument. He fought for everything that was going on behind the scenes, he should have never been fired for this, not when he literally embodied Cyborg.
Granted, there are only 2 major ones in the list above. There are also 2 major ones below as well who should’ve been fired;
- Amber Heard
- This is the biggest slap in the face to every single person who has suffered at the hands of domestic violence and one of the main reasons I think Aquaman 2 will flop. Jonny Depp isn’t necessarily DC but he was fired from Warner Bros. whilst Amber Heard gets to keep her role within a blockbuster superhero film with no repercussions after being found guilty – yet they sacked the innocent party before it even went to court. This even hurt WB’s Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore.
- Ezra Miller
- I like Ezra as The Flash, I really do but he should have been fired, no questions. The charges brought against him were nasty, granted they were dropped – but this doesn’t help with the court of public opinion. He went through a poor time and somewhat I’m glad he was supported but this has clearly hurt the film’s performance at the box office. They should have scrapped this and restarted.
3. Those for Snyderverse and those against it
I have never seen a fandom so divided on any franchise in my life. I see public forums and people arguing with each other every other day. You’ve got those who want the Snyderverse restored, and the ones against it. This will always hurt DC films moving forward as the Snyderverse fandom is huge. I’ve also seen a large portion of fans go against James Gunn and this was made worse when Cavill wasn’t brought back. If the fanbase came together again, it could be special for all of us superhero fans – it hurts more when there are rumors that if The Flash performed well, a Batman Beyond film would follow with Michael Keaton.
4. Poor quality films
The thing is, when you look at DC you expect everything. It’s similar to how Marvel CGI’s Asgard and Wakanda but it’s not the same in DC films. You take a look at the opening scenes for The Flash and it looked atrocious. I know Marvel has had a poor hump when it comes to this also but DC needs to do better.
5. No decent roadmap – even now
James Gunn is now at the helm of DC and not everybody is on board with this decision as mentioned in point 3. Besides Aquaman, the upcoming films for the DCEU only are Blue Beetle and this new Superman movie. There’s no proper roadmap and it’s been an issue for years. Marvel always maps out years in the future and for the most part – they stick with it. DC however cancel this, cancel that, change this, change that, bring another director in, and whatnot. It doesn’t work. The map ahead needs to be cemented and to be stuck with.
I hate that DC has struggled. I love DC the same way I love Marvel and Star Wars but this just needs to be better. They can’t keep messing things up. I hope James Gunn manages to turn things around and I do trust that he will – but we need better quality and they need to start listening to what the fans want. After all, I remember fans screaming for Benedict Cumberbatch to become Doctor Strange, it happened – the same thing happened with John Krasinksi as Mr. Fantastic.
