Let’s just say this up front: DC’s latest output Blue Beetle deserves a serious round of applause. The Latinx-helmed superhero entry is being praised by critics and audiences alike, and it’s proven itself to be a worthy part of the overall DC extended universe canon. But its win with reviewers and fans is just a brief bright spot in the DCU which has, to say the least, had a tough year.
The Flash, which debuted amid massive controversy surrounding its star Ezra Miller, just ended its theatrical run last weekend with $268 million worldwide – a pretty abysmal result considering its reported budget of around $300 million. Shazam: Fury of the Gods didn’t fare any better with just $133 million globally, and Black Adam was still a disappointment with $393 million worldwide (despite what Dwayne Johnson will tell you). And Blue Beetle’s opening weekend, taking in a not-so-super $25 million, is the latest troubling sign.
It’d be short-sighted to call Blue Beetle a flop, of course – just ask Pixar’s Elemental what a box office rebound looks like. But given the positive reception (IGN said in our review that it “that sets itself apart within the bloated genre through the deeply connected bonds of Jaime and the Reyes family”), a lackluster opening certainly has to be discouraging for Warner Bros. The issue with Blue Beetle, however, might be more complicated than it seems at first glance.
“It's a victim of circumstance and timing much more than innate quality,” Box Office Pro’s chief analyst Shawn Robbins told IGN of the film’s theatrical plight.
Among the issues facing Blue Beetle are the fact that Xolo Maridueña is limited in how he can promote the film amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, in addition to competition in strong theatrical holdovers like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. But it, as well as the other films we’ve mentioned here, also put quite a bit more pressure on the upcoming reimagining of the DCEU at the hands of co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, with Gunn being the main creative face behind the overhaul.
A New Beginning
Gunn’s new regime faces immense expectations to bring the DCEU — of which the first set of films under Gunn will be part of what’s being called Chapter One: Gods and Monsters — to the kind of nearly unwavering reputation the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been afforded over the years, one that’s translated into reliable box office returns. It’s the kind that DC’s muddled lineage of films has yet to touch, and with what DC has in store on the horizon, they really need to cinch the play in order to retain any of their own former glory, let alone build upon it.
According to Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, DC die-hards are, at this point, “waiting patiently for DC to hit a consistent stride with films that will deliver on the promise of what the brand represents.”
(Click here to see a full PDF of the chart below.)
And they may be rewarded handsomely for that loyalty and patience. The only movie on the DC slate for 2024 is the October sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, which sees the return of Joaquin Phoenix in the title role with Lady Gaga joining him as Harley Quinn. It’s as highly anticipated as any of the few upcoming movies the DCEU has in store, and if it’s anywhere as divisive as the original (which crossed the coveted $1 billion mark at the box office), it’ll be enough of a smash to get people talking all the way to the theater. Plus, Lady Gaga in anything is sure to get butts in seats.
But after that, in July 2025, James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy, starring David Corensweat and Rachel Brosnahan as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, flies into theaters — and it’s likely Gunn’s ass if the Superman reimagining flops, especially considering his past successes in the Marvel sphere with Guardians of the Galaxy. Obviously we all remember who came before Corensweat: the smoldering Henry Cavill, who was somewhat divisive as the Kyrptonian hero but overall garnered major favor from the fans throughout his time in the character’s world over several films. That may pose as a huge stitch for fans to get over, and that kind of sentiment could potentially bleed into Gunn’s DCEU overhaul as it continues with other projects.
Still, Gunn himself has earned plenty of goodwill with his past filmography, including DC’s own The Suicide Squad and TV series Peacemaker, as well as his transparency with fans on various social media platforms. When Gunn started as co-head of Warner Bros. Discovery’s revamped DC Studios in November 2022, he was specifically courted to rework the company’s strategy toward DC properties, considering nothing has stuck nearly as consistently as their Marvel rivals over the years.
And we all know how the inconsistencies of the DCEU has bothered Warner Bros. Discovery boss and, as much of Hollywood sees it, general art killer David Zaslav; after all, the company completely scrapped any trace of the nearly completed Batgirl film from existence during the early days of the CEO’s tenure.
So Gunn has, metaphorically, a massive anvil hanging over his head, ready to drop at any time Looney Tunes-style. Tasked with the creative direction of the DCEU retooling, whether he’s directing the project or not, he’s responsible for how it benefits — or detracts — from the overall foundation of the new reputation DC Studios is trying to build. That means when The Batman: Part II comes out in October 2025, he’ll also be on the hook, despite the fact that Matt Reeves’ take on the Bat universe precedes Gunn’s tenure as co-CEO. Still, Robert Pattinson is set to return for the sequel and The Batman was a fairly unanimous hit with fans and critics alike, so the buzz is already there.
“Both [The Batman] sequel and the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux should be minimally impacted by the changing atmosphere as they are true creative standalones with very unique identities and audience goodwill,” Robbins noted about the safer of the upcoming DC releases, which will at least bring some kind of stability to the new DC slate, if only for a few moments.
Then, of course, there’s the whole Aquaman 2 thing. The sequel, dubbed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, is due to hit theaters in December. Despite a strong leading man returning for the second installment in Jason Momoa, analysts predict that it won’t quite see the same success as its predecessor did, with its $1.1 billion haul.
“Diminished box office returns are almost inevitable,” Robbins said regarding Aquaman 2. “And expectations are even more volatile until or unless the ongoing industry strikes end so that Momoa is able to promote the film. He is by far its biggest asset, much in the way that Dwayne Johnson was for Black Adam last year.”
Setting the Stage
Ultimately, the fate of Lost Kingdom, as well as the Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels despite being from rival studios, will help to “determine the state of superheroes in 2023 and going forward,” according to David A. Gross, founder of movie consultancy firm Franchise Entertainment Research. In short, how these films perform will surely set the stage for these bigger, flashier, even more highly anticipated titles over 2024 and 2025. Whether or not the Batman and Joker sequels succeed or fail won’t hinge on Aquaman’s returns and reviews, but those elements will lay the groundwork for the climate Batman and Joker release into — like, for instance, how Shazam 2 and The Flash laid the groundwork for Blue Beetle.
That all said, there’s still time for Blue Beetle to make some serious box office returns at home and abroad — and hopefully, it does just that as a refreshing entry into the canon. But no matter what, its tempered opening says a lot about whether fans will be willing to keep giving DC projects the benefit of the doubt as the studio moves into a new age with new management.
“It will be crucial for the new era of DC films to very clearly separate itself from what's come before and take special care to ensure an organic transition when Gunn and other filmmakers do decide to revisit particular elements, characters, or actors that predate their new regime,” Robbins told IGN. “The potential for a major turnaround is there, but time will tell if the final products deliver and whether or not audiences are eager to give them another chance so quickly.”
Time will tell, indeed.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
