Blue Beetle may have ended Barbie's month-long run as the queen of the domestic box office, but the DC Comics-based movie did so in underwhelming fashion.
Previous estimates suggested a debut of $25M - $27M, and Jaime Reyes' first big-screen outing came in at the lower end with softer-than-expected $25.4 million. This gives the movie the lowest DC opening of the year after Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($30.1 million) and The Flash ($55 million).
Although Blue Beetle did have a relatively modest budget of $120 million, with marketing/promotion costs factored in, it'll need serious legs to turn a profit for the studio.
A mostly positive critical reaction might help, and good word-of-mouth could certainly propel the film beyond expectations. That said, the movie did receive a B- CinemaScore, and has now dropped to 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, taking it very close to losing its "certified fresh" status on the review aggregator.
Have you been to see Blue Beetle yet? If so, what did you think? Drop us a comment down below.
UPDATE: Blue Beetle's global opening weekend totals are now in, and the movie has taken in $43.4 million worldwide.
"Recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it," reads the synopsis. "As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab."
"When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armour capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero Blue Beetle."
The cast also includes Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damián Alcázar, and Raoul Max Trujillo.
Blue Beetle is set to be released in theaters on August 18, 2023.