Ezra Miller-led film The Flash receives poor opening numbers at the box office as moviegoers appear to boycott controversial leading star
Ezra Miller’s The Flash had a shaky start at the box office after premiering in theaters on Friday.
The superhero movie, which stars the 30-year-old actor, only grossed around $24.5 million domestically and falls short of the previous predictions of at least $70 million, according to TMZ.
Despite the years of hype over the film’s release, the action-adventure film —which had an initial $220 million budget — also received a low CinemaScore and mixed reception from American audiences.
The abysmal numbers can be attributed to the backlash surrounding the film due to the Fantastic Beasts star’s controversy and alleged crimes.
As such, loyal and dedicated fans of the DC franchise had previously vowed to boycott The Flash in regards to the leading actor’s multiple arrests and series of disturbing allegations in recent years.
Poor performance: Ezra Miller’s The Flash had a shaky start at the box office after premiering in theaters on Friday
In the past few months, the film and entertainment giant behind the big-budget film, Warner Bros., had held many screenings for the film, which received wide praise for Miller’s performance.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower alum — who goes by they/them pronouns — plays protagonist Barry Allen in the flick that was originally set to be released prior to the pandemic in 2018.
At the time, there was serious doubt whether or not the debut film would even make its way to the big screen.
Disregarding the buzz, moviegoers appear to have taken to protesting the highly-anticipated DC installment film and its controversial star.
While the movie has been earning rave reviews, many fans are troubled by Warner Bros. sticking with Miller after a slew of legal troubles.
In the past two years, they had faced charges of assault and burglary as well as accusations of grooming children.
After the premiere earlier this week and Miller made his first public appearance since his alleged crimes, Warner Bros. has been on the receiving end of online backlash and fan fury for ‘ignoring’ the scandal.
However, the studio appears to still be standing by the star as director Andy Muschietti insisted they are the only actor who can play The Flash and will most likely reprise the role in a potential sequel.
Boycotted by DC fans: The superhero movie, which stars the 30-year-old actor, only grossed around $24.5 million domestically and falls short of the previous predictions of at least $70 million, according to TMZ. The abysmal numbers can be attributed to the backlash surrounding the film due to the Fantastic Beasts star’s controversy and alleged crimes
Protesting the controversial star: As such, loyal and dedicated fans of the DC franchise had previously vowed to boycott The Flash in regards to the leading actor’s multiple arrests and series of disturbing allegations in recent years
Box office bomb? Despite the years of hype over the film’s release, the action-adventure film —which had an initial $220 million budget — also received a low CinemaScore and mixed reception from American audiences
Concerning: In the past few months, the film and entertainment giant behind the big-budget film, Warner Bros., had held many screenings for the film, which received wide praise for Miller’s performance. While the movie has been earning rave reviews, many fans are troubled by Warner Bros. sticking with Miller after a slew of legal troubles. In the past two years, they had faced charges of assault and burglary as well as accusations of grooming children
‘I don’t think there’s anyone that can play that character as well as they did,’ he had said about Miller during a recent podcast.
It is currently unknown if the surprising box office numbers will stamp out the probability of a follow-up film being greenlit by the entertainment conglomerate.
The poor performance is also reportedly suspected to be due to cinematographer Zack Snyder’s exiting the DCEU and quitting Justice League mid-production in 2017 due to personal issues.
The director was replaced by Joss Whedon, and the future of DC is now in the hands of filmmaker and studio executive, James Gunn.
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