Summary
- Blue Beetle’s box office performance falls below expectations, earning an estimated $25-27 million in its opening weekend, lower than the anticipated $30 million.
- Despite defeating Barbie at the box office, Blue Beetle’s earnings are not impressive compared to the domination of the Barbie movie, which has already secured over $1 billion.
- Blue Beetle is expected to perform worse than Shazam: Fury of the Gods, which earned approximately $30.1 million.
Blue Beetle has defeated Barbie at the box office, but it still is not doing well for the DC Universe. With over $1 billion already secured, the Barbie movie has been dominating the box office for weeks, before finally being toppled by Blue Beetle, the latest iteration of the DCU. Blue Beetle is an action-packed origin story featuring the first leading Latino superhero as he discovers an intergalactic bug that gives him superpowers.
The DCU’s Blue Beetle is expected to earn between $25 million and $27 million over the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This is lower than expected, as previews initially showed that the film would earn approximately $30 million in its opening weekend. It will likely earn less than Shazam: Fury of the Gods‘ $30.1 million. Barbie, meanwhile, will be earning between $20 million and $21 million, putting the film firmly in second place.
Blue Beetle Is Seriously Underperforming
Blue Beetle comes in the wake of several box office failures for the DCU. The Flash was a box office disaster that brought in only $269 million on a budget of at least $265 million. Shazam: Fury of the Gods also failed after earning $134 million on a $125 million budget. These twin failures could be damning news for a DCU that is waiting for its chance in the spotlight. If the DCU expected Blue Beetle to improve its reputation at the box office, the reality is appearing to be much different.
Unfortunately, Blue Beetle was set up for failure. With James Gunn and Peter Safran preparing to reset the DC universe, Blue Beetle was left in a precarious position. Audiences came into the film already aware that the DCU will be completely upended with Superman: Legacy, leaving little draw to watch a film set in a universe that will no longer be relevant. The Blue Beetle will be the first DCU character to appear in the new universe, but he lacks the draw that other well-known heroes may have, and many in the audience may not know about his relevance.
There is still time for Blue Beetle to recover. The film suffered from the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes limiting opportunities for promotion, but Blue Beetle‘s Rotten Tomatoes score has been hopeful. While it only has a 75 percent Tomatometer score, audiences have granted it a 92 percent score, indicating widespread audience approval. Word-of-mouth support could still revive Blue Beetle in time to give the DCU much-needed success.
Source: THR