After months of hype which saw The Flash hailed as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made, the DC Comics adaptation opened this weekend to so-so, albeit mostly positive, reviews and an underwhelming B CinemaScore.
More importantly, The Flash has all the makings of a box office flop, a disaster for Warner Bros. ahead of DC Studios' planned DCU reboot.
Those of you who didn't buy into that early praise from David Zaslav, James Gunn, Tom Cruise, Jaden Smith, and Stephen King, among others, may now have something else to raise your eyebrows about. According to Chinese box office analyst Gavin Feng, Warner Bros. China is being accused of paying critics and social media influencers in the Middle Kingdom for positive reviews of The Flash.
While moviegoers in the country appear to have legitimately enjoyed the movie, this seemingly bogus praise has led to online backlash and likely negatively impacted box office takings.
Freedom of speech isn't exactly something China is known for, so critics struggle to share negative reviews at the best of times. However, what came across as fake praise for The Flash from the aforementioned influencers and critics has soured DC fans and discouraged them from buying a ticket this weekend.
Savvy moviegoers, wary of the DCEU after a rough few years, clearly didn't buy into the possibility The Flash was as good as some people claimed.
While critics being "bought" in the U.S. isn't a realistic possibility, we know social media reactions can't be trusted as those getting to see movies like this one early tend to get caught up in the excitement...or are keen to see their names in a TV spot!
There's always a chance some people do indeed believe The Flash is one of the best superhero movies ever made, and if so, it may be the most divisive comic book adaptation of all time.
What did you think about The Flash?