THE FLASH: Batman Toys Massively Outsold The Scarlet Speedster; Movie's Failure Negatively Impacts Comic Sales

THE FLASH: Batman Toys Massively Outsold The Scarlet Speedster; Movie's Failure Negatively Impacts Comic Sales

The Flash is the biggest superhero movie flop ever released, but its failings have seen comic book sales take a severe hit. As for action figures, Batman has completely dominated the Scarlet Speedster...

By JoshWilding - Aug 23, 2023 06:08 AM EST
Filed Under: The Flash
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The Flash was released on June 16 to mostly positive reviews - it has a so-so 64% on Rotten Tomatoes - and a lot of scepticism among fans. The movie had, of course, been widely praised by noteworthy celebrities before its theatrical debut but not everyone was buying it. 

Throw in Ezra Miller's continued legal troubles and a series of bad DCEU movies and it's no wonder The Flash ended its box office run with just $268 million worldwide.

The movie boasted a $300 million production budget before marketing costs were factored in, making this DC Comics adaptation the biggest comic book movie flop ever released. As you might expect, that's had an impact on toy sales.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Jordan Hembrough, founder of the toy retail site Hollywood Heroes, who says, "When you look at the Flash toys, the character from the movie that outsold everything else was Batman and the Batmobile." 

The Scarlet Speedster was overshadowed by the Dark Knight in his own movie, no great surprise all things considered.

However, while DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn is proudly touting the fact his recent Tweets about various DC Comics titles have helped rocket them to #1 on Amazon, The Flash's release has had a negative impact on the Fastest Man Alive. 

"Flash books are down. Anything related to this film is kind of dropping," CovrPrice co-founder Matt Devoe reveals. "The Flash film didn’t have anything for fans to take and speculate on. In fact, it’s led to a lot of confusion of, 'OK, what is DC doing with their future lineup?'"

Needless to say, a lot of work will need to be done by DC Studios in order to restore faith in Barry Allen among fans and moviegoers. 

The Flash is no longer playing in theaters but we did recently learn when it's set to premiere on Max.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
Comic Book Reader. Film Lover. WWE and F1 Fan. Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and ComicBookMovie.com's #1 contributor.
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