Offering early fan previews of The Flash may have been a disastrous decision for the DC Universe. While DC Studios has been hailing The Flash as a masterpiece of a film, early box office returns have not been quite as ecstatic. The opening weekend has already proven to be a disappointment, having secured only $24.5 million for its opening day and trending lower for the rest of the weekend.

While DC Studios desperately tried to encourage high attendance, the low box office numbers could be rooted in The Flash's marketing strategy, as PodKatz explained on Twitter. Check out the tweets below:

DC Studios took a risk with The Flash's marketing, which forced director Andy Muschietti to defend the CGI before the film could even release. Many of The Flash's problems were exacerbated by early negative press and audience criticisms that could have prevented more viewers from seeking out screenings on The Flash's release day.

How The Flash's Fan Preview Screenings Impacted Its Box Office

Ezra Miller in The Flash movie running

The threat of the potential collapse of the superhero movie bubble has been haunting Marvel and DC for years. The recent success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 tempered some of those fears, but a poor showing by The Flash could easily exacerbate them again. After all, DC Studios put considerable resources into The Flash even in spite of Ezra Miller's allegations and controversies.

With Miller struggling with the law, DC Studios opted to decrease their press appearances, leading to the studio preferring a method of early fan screenings, direct ment, and endorsements from celebrities, including Stephen King. This was likely done in the hopes of stirring up online discussion, which was successful. Unfortunately, the discussion revolved around CGI and other negatives, which seriously hampered the movie's success.

If The Flash is to recover from its opening weekend, it will need to rely on word-of-mouth to encourage more viewership. Unfortunately, that word of mouth isn't proving to be particularly positive. Many online reactions to The Flash have centered on why the Flash was seemingly microwaving a baby, rather than encouraging a new audience to rush to the theater. The Flash could continue to struggle through its run, and it may be the consequence of a risky marketing strategy that hasn't paid off.

Source: PodKats / Twitter