Andy Muschietti on 'The Flash' Failure: Lack of Interest in the Character

Director Andy Muschietti of the DC Extended Universe film "The Flash" has openly discussed the movie's disappointing box office performance, attributing part of its failure to a lack of broad appeal. In an interview with Radio Tu, translated by Variety, Muschietti highlighted that "The Flash" did not successfully attract "the four quadrants" of moviegoers—industry jargon for appealing to all demographic groups, which is crucial 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 stressed that Warner Bros. aimed for the film to be universally appealing, even to audiences like "your grandmother."

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Muschietti further elaborated in private discussions that the character of The Flash did not resonate with a significant portion of the audience, particularly with women across all age groups. He noted, "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."

In Hollywood, the four quadrants are defined as males under 25, males over 25, females under 25, and females over 25. Muschietti's reference to "all the other reasons" likely includes the film's negative critical reception, the controversy surrounding its heavy use of CGI, especially to digitally recreate deceased actors without their family's consent, and its release near the end of the now-defunct DC Extended Universe.

Despite these setbacks, DC has continued to show confidence in Muschietti, as he is set to direct "The Brave and the Bold," which will be the inaugural Batman film in the new DC Universe led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. This move indicates that DC is looking forward to new projects under new leadership, even as they navigate the challenges of past releases.