The Flash drops by 72% in its second week at the box office, yikes

As fast as The Flash could race to the top of the recent box office charts, its Marvel rival swoops in to reclaim its crown.

The Flash, the much-delayed latest DC live-action movie finally arrived in cinemas on 15 June 2023. Prior to its launch, it was said to play its part in helping to reset the DCU as we lead into the new James Gunn and Peter Safran era. When The Flash launched in cinemas, it was met with a mixed reception, scoring 65% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but with a more impressive score of 84% from the audience.

Take a look at The Flash in action below.

Prior to its arrival, Sony’s animated movie Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was enjoying even greater success remaining at the top of the US box office charts for a consecutive number of weeks. Globally, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has grossed an impressive $560 million so far.

During its opening weekend in the US, The Flash garnered a somewhat underwhelming $55 million at the box office. However, as reported by IGN, during its second week, The Flash had dropped a whopping 72% earning just $15 million at the US box office. Yikes! What’s more, an article from Digital Spy states that since its launch in cinemas, The Flash has so far only generated $210.9 million at the worldwide box office.

Compare this to The Dark Knight (2008) which earned $158.4 million during its opening weekend alone, and $533.4 million in its box office lifetime, and you'll see a starkly different picture. Furthermore, Wonder Woman (2017) earned over $103 million during its opening weekend, and over $412 million during its lifetime box office gross. It’s now looking like a gruelling task for The Flash to get anywhere near those lifetime box office numbers, but I could be wrong.

In our review of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, we said: “This is a film that demands multiple rewatches. It deserves to be paused and rewound, every lovingly crafted frame and detail pored over and squealed in delight at.”

The Flash and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse are available to watch in cinemas now.