In the months leading up to The Flash’s release, there was a lot of positive hype surrounding the movie, including a report comparing its quality to The Dark Knight. And yet, not only did the second of 2023’s DC movies receive more mixed critical reception, it ended up being a box office bomb, making just $268.5 million worldwide off a reported $300 million budget. As it turns out, The Flash’s commercial failure has negatively affected other corners of the DC Comics media empire, but as a silver lining, there is a fun way that Michael Keaton’s Batman has emerged a big winner in the aftermath.
Let’s start with the bad news first. According to Matt Devoe, co-founder of CovrPrivce, which keeps track of comic book sales online, The Flash’s failure to hit with audiences has resulted in sales of DC’s Flash comic books and products revolving around The Fastest Man Alive taking a blow. As Devoe told THR:
