In a surprising turn of events this week, Sony’s film “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Pixar’s new animated film “Elemental” surpassed Warner Bros.’ DC superhero tentpole “The Flash” at the box office on Wednesday.
Both “The Flash” and “Elemental” had disappointing results during their opening weekend from June 16-18. “The Flash” only managed to earn $55 million in its first three days, falling behind expectations and performing worse than another DC film, “Black Adam,” which collected $67 million last year. “Black Adam” was considered a major disappointment despite starring Dwayne Johnson.
Despite the personal problems and multiple arrests of its star, Ezra Miller, “The Flash” was one of the most anticipated films of the summer and even the entire year of 2023. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav hyped up the film at CinemaCon, proclaiming it to be the best superhero movie he had ever seen. However, “The Flash” failed to attract a wide range of audiences, receiving a mediocre B CinemaScore and tepid exit ratings on PostTrak.
“Elemental” had an even worse opening, earning only $29.6 million, which is the lowest three-day start in Pixar’s history when adjusted for inflation. However, the film received positive feedback from audiences, boasting an A CinemaScore and strong exit ratings. This explains why it managed to outperform “The Flash” on Wednesday, earning $3.5 million compared to “The Flash’s” $3.1 million.
Related Post
Meanwhile, the animated sequel “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” continued its successful run in its third week, dominating Wednesday’s box office with $3.8 million and bringing its domestic total to over $294 million.
As of Wednesday, “The Flash” has accumulated a domestic total of $69.5 million, while “Elemental” has earned $43.4 million. It remains to be seen whether “The Flash” can regain its number one spot on Thursday and win the box office race from June 23-25, or if “Elemental’s” positive word-of-mouth will lead to a close competition.
This weekend, all eyes will be on Sony as they release both “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Jennifer Lawrence’s new R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings.” “No Hard Feelings” is projected to open with $10 million to $12 million and is part of a series of raunchy comedies aiming to revive the troubled genre at the box office.
Another new nationwide release is Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” which is expanding across the country after achieving the best per-location average at the specialty box office since “La La Land” in 2016. The film, distributed by Focus Features, hopes to debut in the range of $5 million.
In conclusion, the box office battle between “The Flash” and “Elemental” has taken an unexpected turn, with the latter surpassing the former on Wednesday. The success of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” continues, while new releases like “No Hard Feelings” and “Asteroid City” hope to make an impact on the box office this weekend.
