It looks like DC finally one-upped Marvel, as The Flash trailer premiere during Super Bowl Sunday edged Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to become the most watched and talked about movie to pick up one of those pricey marketing spots.
Granted, The Flash trailer was the first official preview for the highly anticipated film, and the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 debut trailer had already come out in December of last year. Nevertheless, Barry Allen got the best out of Dominic Toretto and company. The Fast X trailer had come out a couple of days before the big event, with Universal Pictures wisely passing on the opportunity of race against The Flash, possibly foreseeing that as a losing matchup.
The numbers confirm The Flash was more than the fastest man alive. Analytics firm EDO (via The Wrap) claims The Flash trailer was the top ad overall among all advertisers, aside from being the best-performing theatrical trailer to be released over the weekend. In its analysis, the fact that Warner Bros.' Marketing gurus decided to drop the trailer before the Kansas City Chief victory over the Philadelphia Eagles had kicked off is seen as a key factor in The Flash's runaway win, as opposed to the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 online clip.
One person who will undoubtedly be happy to see these two movies pick up so much interest is James Gunn. After all, it’s only once his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is complete that he can focus 100% on the DC Universe. In that context, The Flash will play a vital role in Gunn's vision, as DC Studios' co-CEO has gone on the record to call the movie the soft reboot for what Warner Bros. Had built up to this point.
It’s not as if The Flash didn’t have a lot of competition in terms of ads, as many commercials, such as Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's Breaking Bad bit, Paul Rudd's alcohol-free Ant-Man, and John Travolta's musical number for T-Mobile, all proved to be quite popular. Regardless, The Flash continues to consolidate the complete dominion superheroes have over the movie industry, so it’s just a matter of seeing whether the movie can convert that interest to ticket sales for DC come summer.
Marvel Studios' opening blockbuster for 2023 will be Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, so that will be the first hurdle The Flash will have to clear before taking on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 at the box office.
The Flash is scheduled for release on June 16, 2023
Source: The Wrap