‘The Flash’ rules global box office on $138.7m launch; ‘Elemental’ starts staggered roll-out

World box office June 16-18

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

’The Flash’ hampered by disappointing North American debut

UPDATED: Warner Bros DC’s The Flash has launched across the world and led weekend global box office by a large margin on a confirmed $138.7m and opened at number one in 50 territories, even though the number must be viewed as lacklustre for a superhero adaptation.

The feature starring Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton is projected to earn a lowly $64.2m over four days in North America, where the US is celebrating the Juneteenth federal holiday.

The international gross reached $74.5m from 78 markets led by China on $13.7m in 24,010 sites, a number one debut which came in 30% ahead of The Batman and 19% above Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Both those films came out in 2022 when China was still imposing lockdowns.

In other top grosses, The Flash grossed $8.7m from 3,580 sites in Mexico and opened top, 12% ahead of recent release Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, 42% ahead of December 2022 release Black Adam and 34% ahead of 2019’s Shazam!

The tentpole delivered $5.3m in the UK to finish the weekend at number one, some 43% ahead of Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, which was in its second weekend. The UK has been enjoying a warm and sunny early summer although the weather is forecast to change, which could mark an improvement in box office.

In other highlights for The Flash, South Korea produced $3.6m, Brazil $3.4m, Australia $3m, France $2.7m, Indonesia $2.6m, India $2.5m, and Taiwan $1.8m.

The Batman finished on $770.9m worldwide and based on early indicators The Flash will face a mountainous task getting near to that total. The character appeared in DC’s Justice League which opened in October 2017 and finished on $657.9m worldwide. Marvel Studio’ Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania opened earlier this year and reached $476m, which is also regarded as a lowly performance for a superhero tentpole.

Warner Bros executives showed the Ezra Miller tentpole at CinemaCon in April and it was generally liked, however Hollywood executives spent the weekend asking why the $200m-plus feature underperformed and that will undoubtedly be a talking point at CineEurope in Barcelona this week.

One reason could be the character is a lesser superhero and may require more screen time to become familiar to cinema-goers. Miller’s starring role – playing two versions of the character – earned solid reviews although they were sidelined during the marketing campaign due to their ongoing personal difficulties.

To add to the studio’s challenges it – like all its peers – has been unable to bring talent onto late night US talk shows after talk shows went off air the day the writers strike started on May 2. 

’Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts’ drops to second place

In its second session last weekend’s champion, Paramount/Skydance’s Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, added an estimated $57.2m for a $274.9m running total.

China led the way on $11.5m to rank second and propel the cumulative tally to $60.6m for the market, which is traditionally a strong one for the franchise and returned more than $228m when all was said and done on 2017 release Transformers: The Last Knight, and $170.8m for Bumblebee in 2018.

Mexico earned $3.1m for $13m; Peru continued its excellent run – part of the film shot there – with a $2.5m haul for $9.1m after two weekends; Indonesia grossed $1.9m for $8.2m; France $1.8m for $6.1m; Malaysia $1.4m for $5.4m; and the UK $1.4m for $6.1m.

In terms of final global tallies Bumblebee finished on $468m and Transformers: The Last Knight $605.4m. 2014’s Transformers: Age Of Extinction finished on $1.1bn and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon reached $1.12bn in 2011. Both were directed by Michael Bay, as were The Last Knight and Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen in 2009, which finished on $836m.

Bay is a producer on the latest entry in the Transformers canon, which is directed by Stephen Caple Jr and lacks the star power of earlier episodes when the likes of Shia LaBeouf and Mark Wahlberg did battle for the humans. Anthony Ramos (Hamilton, In The Heights) leads the cast.

Rise Of The Beasts will open in Australia and New Zealand on June 22, and in Japan on August 4.

’Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ nearing $500m worldwide

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse has been a 2023 success story for box office and Sony’s Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation. The Spidey spin-off brought in a further $55.4m to reach $489.4m after a 48% weekend-to-weekend international marketplace drop – already well ahead of the $384.3m final gross of 2018 predecessor Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

Top of the territory table is China on a $3.7m weekend for a $41.3m running total; followed by the UK on $3.2m for $25.3m; Mexico, which is producing strong numbers at the box office this year, on $2.5m for $23.7m; Australia on $2.1m for $14.6m; and Brazil on $1.2m for $10.1m.

The acclaimed animation debuted in Japan at number one on $2.8m to beat the opening of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse by 82%.

’Elemental’ fails to catch fire

As with The Flash, Disney/Pixar’s Elemental posted sluggish results and ranked second on the weekend global charts on $44.5m. 

In true Pixar fashion this is a staggered international roll-out and there are plenty of major markets still to open. Executives hope the family release gathers pace in a marketplace where such films are in short supply. Elemental opens in several territories this week including France, Mexico, and Germany and the UK launch comes in July.

Some $29.5m of the global haul came from North America, while $15m came from 17 territories led by three heavyweights: China on a dispiriting $5.2m in third place, South Korea on $3.2m as the number two non-local release, and Australia on $1.1m at number three. Argentina and Philippines generated $1m in first place and $600,000 in third, respectively.

By comparison, Disney executives noted that the launch was 45% ahead of Inside Out in 2015 (that Pixar release ended on $15.3m in China and $501m internationally) although Elemental’s social scores were excellent with Maoyan at 9.3, TPP at 9.2, and Douban at 7.5. The upcoming Thursday to Saturday Dragon Boat Festival public holiday may provide an opportunity to sell tickets even though local releases fare better in this period.

Pixar has traded for so many years on its a reputation as a commercial and critical hit factory and is facing a tough time getting back on track after the pandemic. Elemental closed Cannes where it played out of competition.

Meanwhile Disney’s family title The Little Mermaid brought in an estimated $26.9m to reach a $466m global running total. Rob Marshall’s fantasy adventure ranks number one in Japan, where it has amassed $10.5m, and third in a swath of territories including the UK, where the cumulative tally stands at $27.5m and is the top market.

Next come Mexico on $19.7m, Brazil on $14.8m, Italy on $12.3m, Australia on $11.9m, and France on $11.2m.

Marvel Studios’ Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 used a $7.9m global session to elevate the running total to a highly respectable $820.9m that ranks second in the franchise behind 2017’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 on $863.8m worldwide. (Guardians Of The Galaxy in 2014 finished on $773.4m.)

International box office for the third entry in the sci-fi canon dropped 59% and Vol. 3 stands at $476.5m overall, led by China on $86.6m, the UK on $45.1m, Mexico on $36.1m, South Korea on $33.4m, and France on $30.5m.

’The Super Mario Bros Movie’ exits top 10 after sensational run

Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros Movie no longer ranks in the global top 10 however the latest data from Universal executives shows the animation smash earned $4.5m over the weekend for a $1.327bn global tally. International and North American box office stand at $754.8m and $572.1m, respectively.

• ‘The Flash’, ‘Elemental’ disappoint at North American box office