DC/WB had such a long streak of bad movies and has been so inconsistent that it’s no surprise they’ve totally lost the public’s support. It’s now at the point where even if they produce a good movie like Blue Beetle the audience has long since given up on the brand to even care. I wish things could have been different and it had been released after the reboot. Maybe it will find new life on streaming and people will give it a look if Superman: Legacy is actually good.
I think WB actually did an ok job of promoting Blue Beetle. They started way too late but at least there was number of tie ins, Target had Blue Beetle shirts and kids clothing (which was crazy to see considering he’s basically an unknown character), but the inability of the actors to do things like talk show appearances really hurt it. A basically known property needed all the help it could get and it was seriously handicapped by the strike.
The movie was very enjoyable but low stakes which is a hard sell in the post-Endgame era. The heart of the movie is the family interaction and delving into the Blue Beetle character mythology. Things that didn’t excite people enough to get to the theaters.