The Real Reason Blue Beetle Bombed At The Box Office

Despite getting mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, DC's latest effort — the origin story of Jaime Reyes' "Blue Beetle" — ended up flopping at the box office.

During a summer that's basically been defined by the phenomenon known as "Barbenheimer" — referring to the simultaneous release of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" and Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" in mid-July — it was always going to be tough for another movie to break through, but "Blue Beetle" definitely didn't meet the studio's expectations after its recent string of fellow flops (looking at you, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods"). 

While "Blue Beetle" did kick "Barbie" out of the top spot at the box office after Gerwig's film spent a whopping four weeks there (and became the highest-grossing domestic release for Warner Bros. by beating out "The Dark Knight"), it only earned around $25 million, with "Barbie," a movie that's been out for a month, nearly matching it at just about $21 million. 

So what exactly happened here? What kept "Blue Beetle" from being so buzzy, and why didn't it perform nearly as well as the studio executives at DC and Warner Bros. likely hoped? It probably came down to a few factors — it came out towards the end of the summer, it didn't have the strongest marketing campaign, and frankly, DC fans are starting to lose faith in the studio at this point.

According to TV Tropes, August is considered a "dump month," and the back half of the month is usually reserved for movies that aren't expected to perform quite as well as everybody wraps up their fun summer and moves on with their lives. Kids are heading back to school or families are taking one last trip together before that happens, and the big releases are typically preserved for the holiday season, as Thanksgiving and Christmas usually play host to the biggest movies of the year.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule; "Guardians of the Galaxy" was released in August of 2014 and became an immediate hit, and like "Blue Beetle," it was also the origin story of comic book characters that had largely been forgotten except by the most ardent of readers. So what was the difference here? Part of it comes down to the marketing campaign, a dearth of major movie stars, and some very, very unfortunate timing.

"Blue Beetle" was, truthfully, always a risky movie. The movie is based on a lesser-known character whose cast doesn't boast any enormous names, with the biggest being Susan Sarandon. You know, the lady from "Stepmom." It's all frustrating because Xolo Maridueña has earned praise for his central performance as Jaime Reyes, but while he's a fan favorite on "Cobra Kai," he's not yet a mega-watt star. Marvel was able to get away with casting people like Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth before they became two of the world's biggest stars, but for a movie to face off against star-studded flicks like "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," you might need to pack a punch slightly bigger than Sarandon.

"Blue Beetle" also didn't wage the biggest marketing campaign — to bring "Barbie" into it again, that movie was simply inescapable this summer, while the average moviegoer probably wasn't even sure "Blue Beetle" was coming out. There's another issue here, though. The truth here is also that "Blue Beetle" simply couldn't have a huge press tour to put its stars on the map, because of the current double strike between SAG-AFTRA and the WGA against major studios. In order to avoid crossing the picket line, stars can't do any publicity for past, present, or future projects... and while the stars of "Blue Beetle" have stood strong with SAG-AFTRA and are also fighting for fair pay and treatment, it can't be overlooked that their timing was absolutely terrible when it came to publicity.

Frankly, DC hasn't been doing themselves any favors as of late. We already mentioned the mega-flop that was "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," and despite star Zachary Levi's complaints that nobody's making quality content anymore, that unloved movie certainly contributed to superhero fatigue. As Marvel moves away from the glory of Phase 3 and the one-two punch of "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame" and DC struggles to keep up, the world has gotten more and more projects that have only produced diminishing returns. Things felt especially dire for DC when "The Flash," released in the middle of June, became one of Warner Bros.' biggest box office bombs, so in a way, it feels like "Blue Beetle" was set up to fail.

The truth is that, despite repeatedly strapping on their wax wings and heading in the sun's direction, DC hasn't yet reached Marvel's heights... and "Blue Beetle" is another casualty, which is really a shame. A film that put a spotlight on Latine people and introduced fresh faces into the media landscape is a net positive, so hopefully, more people will discover "Blue Beetle" with time. In the meantime, it's yet another L for DC.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. To learn more about why writers and actors are currently on strike, click here for an up-to-date explainer from our Looper team.