Why "The Flash" Flopped: Andy Muschietti Points To Missing The Four-Quadrant Mark

Dan Lalonde
Jan 14, 2025
2 min read

Director Andy Muschietti recently shared his insights into why The Flash—a $200 million DC tentpole—struggled at the box office. Despite grossing $271 million worldwide, the film fell far short of breaking even when considering its hefty production and marketing costs. According to Muschietti, the core issue lay in its inability to appeal to all "four quadrants" of the moviegoing audience: men over 25, men under 25, women over 25, and women under 25.

Speaking on Radio Tu’s “La Baulera del Coso,” Muschietti explained, “When you spend $200 million making a movie, [Warner Bros.] wants to bring even your grandmother to the theaters. The Flash failed, among all the other reasons, because it wasn’t a movie that appealed to all four quadrants. It failed at that.”

One surprising element of this failure is the stark contrast between the movie's reception and the success of The Flash TV series, which ran from 2014 to 2023 and developed a loyal fanbase. The CW show consistently attracted a sizable female audience, especially within the younger demographics. However, Muschietti admitted that the movie adaptation didn’t resonate with women the same way.

“I’ve found in private conversations that a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character,” he said. “Particularly the two female quadrants. All of that is just the wind going against the film I’ve learned.”

Beyond audience disinterest, The Flash faced external challenges, including delays and controversies surrounding its lead actor, Ezra Miller, which likely exacerbated its poor performance.

In a video I produced for Vertical Bar Media I compared the slow motion scenes of Quicksilver in X-Men to The Flash and how they failed to replicate the magic of those show stealing scenes.

This failure underscores a critical issue for major studios: the importance of ensuring broad appeal across demographics. While The Flash TV series demonstrated the character’s potential to engage a diverse audience, the movie adaptation couldn’t replicate that success. As superhero fatigue sets in, studios may need to better understand and cater to the varied preferences of their audience.