Blue Beetle earned the lowest Thursday night previews of any other DC movie in 2023 at the box office.
2023 has not been the strongest year for DC commercially. Their first two superhero movies—Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash—both bombed at the box office. The Flash, which cost $200-220 million to make, is now estimated to be one of the biggest box office bombs of all time.
Blue Beetle box office
However, Blue Beetle earned $3.3 million in Thursday night previews at the box office. This is lower than the previews for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which earned $3.4 million, and The Flash, which earned $9.7 million. Blue Beetle is currently tracking to make $25-32 million in its opening weekend, which would put it on par with Shazam 2’s $30 million opening.
As Blue Beetle and Shazam 2 had similar budgets, their Thursday night previews are a harbinger that the two will perform similarly at the box office. The new film featuring DC’s first Latino protagonist in a movie will have to rely on word of mouth and a lack of competition if it hopes to outperform the other DC superhero movies from 2023.
