Warner Bros. Blames Blue Beetle's Box Office Performance On Hurricane Hilary
DC has had a rough 2023. "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" and "The Flash" faced mixed reviews and underperformed significantly at the box office. Despite not having as much name recognition, hopes were high for "Blue Beetle," which came out on August 18. Unlike some of its predecessors, reviews were uniformly positive for the movie, but DC sadly just can't catch a break right now. It earned around $25 million domestically in its opening weekend, but with a lower budget than something like "The Flash," things might not be too bad in the long run.
Still, DC has damage control to do for those numbers, and the studio's blaming an act of God on this one. Exhibitor Relations Co. posted a statement directly from Warner Bros. HQ on August 20: "The storm's impact is anticipated to be significant, particularly in Southern California where the film is over‐indexing." This refers to Hurricane Hilary, which pummeled the West Coast, hitting Southern California particularly hard, as well as parts of Arizona. It seems Warner Bros. thinks the storm kept plenty of people at home instead of traveling to the movie theater to see a new superhero movie.
While the hurricane could have certainly contributed to the poor box office performance of "Blue Beetle," the film faced an uphill battle from the start. DC films have severely underperformed as of late, and while torrential rain in a populous region likely didn't help, it's far from the whole story.
It remains to be seen if Blue Beetle has legs
"Blue Beetle" has a reported budget of $104 million. That puts it well below most modern superhero movies, but it still means a $25 million domestic opening weekend is disappointing. It did get some help overseas, grossing an additional $18 million, putting its total at $43 million for its first few days. But it's going to see diminishing returns in the near future, giving it yet another uphill battle to pursue. But there's always a chance "Blue Beetle" could bounce back.
One of the great comeback stories of 2023 is Pixar's "Elemental." It opened opposite "The Flash" in June and brought in $30 million domestically opening weekend. It seemed like a failure for Pixar, but the animated movie had stellar legs in the coming weeks. At the beginning of August, "Elemental" had grossed $420 million worldwide, meaning it would be a modest success for the company. It may have opened smaller than anticipated, but strong word-of-mouth carried "Elemental" through the following months, allowing it to make back its budget.
With predominantly good reviews, there's a chance "Blue Beetle" could find a similar path to profitability. Even if Hurricane Hilary kept many people at home, they may seek it out in the weeks to come in theaters after hearing how good it is. Plus, it's PG-13, so families can see it if they want an action-packed romp. "The Equalizer 3" debuts on September 3, but that's more for adults. "The Nun II" drops the following week, but as a horror film, that's also not necessarily catering to the same audience. There's a good chance "Blue Beetle" could make its budget back and then some, but people actually have to turn out to see it.