'The Flash' uncovers a debt for Warner and DC.

Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios have a problem. The Flash, which has opened with a strong box-office miss, is the third comic book-based release from the major after Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods to flop on its arrival in theaters. And we're not talking about a minor setback, or a lower-than-expected lack of revenue. The big blockbuster that Warner was relying on for the summer is not working and in fact, Blue Beetle and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom have yet to hit theaters.

DC's present in the movies is frightening and a real problem for Warner and its managers. Although DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran have announced that they will reboot the DC license in 2025, starting with Superman: Legacy, the current situation is quite complicated and has left Warner in a frightening scenario. In fact, superhero fatigue in the movies is real, and audiences are not responding at all to the new installments that have been hitting theaters. "The Flash is a case of coming at the worst possible time, something inevitable but terrible," explained a rival studio executive from Variety.

"Audiences don't feel they have to invest two hours of their lives in a movie like this because it's not going to matter in the future," the anonymous source continued. Taking into account the production budgets and possible marketing expenses for these four films, including The Flash, we are talking about a total financial hole ranging between 1100 and 1200 million dollars, an exorbitant and unfeasible amount for a Hollywood studio in this day and age.

Indeed, there is no doubt that DC Studios is going through a rough patch. Hopefully James Gunn knows how to fix it with his future projects.