Director Andy Muschietti has openly discussed the disappointing box office performance of his DC Extended Universe film, "The Flash," attributing its failure to a lack of broad appeal. In an interview with Radio Tu, translated by Variety, Muschietti revealed that the film struggled to connect with "the four quadrants" of the movie-going audience—a term used in the industry to describe the goal of appealing to all demographics: males under 25, males over 25, females under 25, and females over 25. He noted that "The Flash" did not meet this expectation, which was critical for a film with a hefty $200 million budget. "The Flash failed, among all the other reasons, because it wasn’t a movie that appealed to all four quadrants. It failed at that," Muschietti explained. He added that Warner Bros. aimed to attract a wide audience, including even "your grandmother," to the theaters.
Muschietti also touched on the specific disinterest in the character of The Flash among certain demographics, particularly the female quadrants. "I’ve found in private conversations that a lot of people just don’t care about the Flash as a character. Particularly the two female quadrants. All of that is just the wind going against the film I’ve learned," he said.
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When mentioning "all the other reasons" for the film's failure, Muschietti likely referred to its critical reception, the controversy surrounding its use of CGI to digitally recreate deceased actors without family consultation, and its unfortunate timing at the end of the now-defunct DCEU. Despite these challenges, DC Studios appears to maintain confidence in Muschietti, as he is slated to direct "The Brave and the Bold," the inaugural Batman film in the new DC Universe led by James Gunn and Peter Safran.
