The Flash may well go down in history as an all-time disastrous box office bomb. The first solo outing for Barry Allen has a listed budget of somewhere between $200-220 million, though after years of pre-production, extensive reshoots, and a global marketing blitz, we suspect the true cost of this movie to Warner Bros. was far, far higher.
Blame is already being spread out on why The Flash has cratered so badly. Theories range from audiences being burnt out on multiversal superhero adventures, poor word of mouth over the very shoddy CGI, the knowledge that this is coming just before James Gunn’s DCU reboot, it covering the same ground as the excellent Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse but doing it much worse, and the Batman-centric marketing displaying a lack of confidence in the titular hero.
But, beyond all that, many believe that the avalanche of bad press around star Ezra Miller was a major factor. So, let’s look at the facts and try to figure out whether this theory holds water.
The wild world of Ezra Miller
It’s safe to say Miller hasn’t had a great few years. Things first began to go awry in 2020, when a video appeared online of them appearing to choke a woman in a bar in Iceland. The incident seems to have been quickly swept under the rug, although two years later, the person involved said Miller responded badly to a joke and “got super mad.”
But Miller’s roaring rampage really kicked off in 2022. In March of that year, they were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after two incidents at a karaoke bar in Hawaii. This was shortly followed by a restraining order being taken out against them after they were said to have burst into a couple’s bedroom, yelled “I will bury you and your slut wife,” before leaving with some of their personal possessions. A further charge of second-degree assault followed when they tossed a chair at a woman later that month.
Then things took a turn for the disturbing. Miller was accused of grooming a 12-year-old, with their parents alleging they’d shown a pattern of “cult-like and psychologically manipulative, controlling behavior.” A Massachusetts mother also claimed that Miller had “menaced their family one evening in their downstairs neighbor’s home and acted inappropriately toward” their child.
Miller was then hit with a burglary charge after sneaking into a Vermont home and absconding with “several bottles of alcohol.” Soon afterwards, Miller addressed all of the above by saying:
“I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment. I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”
Following the burglary charges, they were sentenced to a year’s probation and have since kept a low profile. So, after all this, have audiences decided they simply don’t want to support a blockbuster starring Miller?
Is Miller the source of the movie’s woes?
You don’t have to look far on social media to see people swearing off The Flash specifically because Miller is starring in it. For example:
That said, anger on social media doesn’t necessarily translate to the real world, and outside of what we can surmise from the poor CinemaScore we don’t yet have any firm data on why audiences haven’t shown up to The Flash. However, a 2022 study from Morning Consult at least gives us some insight into what the public thinks about Miller’s behavior:
The “grooming children” accusation is clearly the most damaging, with 49% saying any potential movie with a lead alleged to have done it should be permanently shelved, and another 36% saying the role should be recast. These numbers may have shifted slightly after a year, though it’s clear that people have a strong negative reaction to these kinds of allegations.
The consequences of the controversy have also undeniably had an impact on the movie’s promotional tour. Aside from a carefully stage-managed appearance at the premiere, Miller has done no promo work for The Flash and conducted no interviews in print or otherwise. Then again, the ongoing writers’ strike has seriously impacted the late-night talk shows the stars would ordinarily have appeared on, so the interview opportunities may have been limited in any event. Warner Bros. seems to have tried to make up for this with a slew of eyebrow-raising endorsements from the likes of Tom Cruise and Stephen King, though they don’t appear to have moved the dial much.
All that said, we can be certain that the mountain of bad press and negative stories about Miller must have inevitably impacted The Flash. The perfect storm of problems swirling around it has clearly turned off large swathes of its core audience, so even though Miller’s antics might not be the single thing that doomed The Flash, they’re definitely a contributing factor.
Where Miller goes from here is anyone’s guess. They currently have no upcoming TV or movie projects, and if Warner Bros. decides they’re the reason its tentpole summer blockbuster has cratered, we doubt the studio will be jumping at the chance to work with them again. At this point, we’d be surprised if they ever reprised the role of Barry Allen, and suspect James Gunn will eventually reboot and recast the character for his upcoming DCU clean slate.
But Hollywood loves a comeback story. Shia LaBeouf has had similarly horrific press around abuse allegations and just returned to the big screen in Abel Ferrara’s Padre Pio. We can also look at the continued rehabilitation of Mel Gibson and Johnny Depp, both of whom have been welcomed back into Tinseltown’s good graces after a few years in the wilderness.
Then again, that may be many years away. Right now, Ezra Miller is front-and-center on a colossal blockbuster flop and can reasonably be said to have caused a massive financial loss for Warner Bros. It’s going to take quite some time to wash that career stain away.