Warner Bros.
shazam There was no magic word at the weekend box office.
“Shazam: Fury of the Gods” opened at No. 1 in North America, but the Warner Bros. and DC Comics sequel dashed expectations with a disappointing debut of $30.5 million from 4,071 theaters. Over the weekend, the film was expected to collect $35 million to $40 million, which was already not that great considering it cost north of $110 million to make and over $100 million to market.
That’s a substantial drop from 2019’s “Shazam,” the first comic book installment starring Zachary Levi’s quirky hero, which opened to $53.5 million and ended its box office run with $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. terminated. It’s also one of the worst starts in the DC Cinematic Universe apart from pandemic-era releases like “Wonder Woman 1984” ($16.7 million) and “The Suicide Squad” ($26 million), which both opened simultaneously on HBO Max .
At the international box office, “Shazam 2” added $35 million from 77 markets for a disappointing global debut of $65.5 million.
The reviews and the word “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” can’t help but pour in this coming week. It landed a “B+” CinemaScore, down from the first film’s “A” grade. And it has a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, a dramatic drop from the original’s 90% average. David F. Sandberg returned to direct “Fury of the Gods,” which focuses on Levy’s Billy Batson and his foster siblings — all of whom play “Shazam!” Turns into a superhero when told. – as they team up to fight the Daughters of Atlas, who possess a weapon that could destroy the world. Rachel Ziegler, Adam Brody, Lucy Liu, and Helen Mirren co-star in the film.
“The Fury of the Gods” is, to some extent, also a victim of the big reset at DC. It’s the first film to be released since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over the superhero universe and set it in a new direction. While producers have been careful not to completely rule out the return of any established DC heroes (except for Henry Cavill as Superman), fans can see the writing on the wall.
Once upon a time, comic book tentpoles were untouchable at the box office. But the cracks in “Shazam 2,” as well as Disney’s poorly received Marvel sequel “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania,” are starting to show, at least when it comes to subpar-rated adventures. “Ant-Man 3” impressed with its mighty $106 million opening weekend in February, but it crumbled in the following weeks and will almost certainly end up as the lowest-grossing installment ever, despite the biggest opening ever. DC’s previous standalone adventure “Black Adam”, led by Dwayne Johnson, also largely disappointed in its theatrical run, grossing $392 million worldwide on a budget of over $200 million.
This isn’t to suggest that superhero fatigue is over — and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” look set to dominate the summer box office is — but it points to a future in which studios can no longer release any mega-budget comic book adaptation in theaters with the expectation that it will easily gross at least $500 million globally.
So far [in 2023]’Ant-Man’ slowed down after a stellar debut, and ‘Shazam’ is falling,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. found the way; neither elevated their chain.
Elsewhere at the box office, Paramount’s thriller “Scream VI” slipped to second place with $17.5 million from 3,676 North American theaters. Those ticket sales, which are down 61% from its stellar $41 million debut, bring the sequel’s domestic tally to $76 million after two weeks on the big screen. The horror film added another $40 million internationally, bringing its global gross to $116 million.
Michael B. Jordan’s sports drama “Creed III” finished third with $15.3 million from 3,477 locations, down only 44% from its first weekend. After three weeks of release, the film has grossed an impressive $127.7 million. Already, the third “Creed” film has outpaced its predecessors as the first film ended its run with $109 million and the sequel tapped out with $115 million.
Sony’s prehistoric sci-fi thriller “65” finished fourth with $5.8 million from 3,405 theaters, down 54% from its debut. The film starring Adam Driver has so far grossed $22.4 million, which is not a great result considering its $45 million budget.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania” moved into the top five in its fifth weekend of release with $4.1 million from 2,650 theaters. So far, it has earned $205 million in North America, above the original “Ant-Man” ($180 million) and behind 2018 sequel “Ant-Man and the Wasp” ($216 million). But with $462 million globally, ticket sales for “Ant-Man 3” are dramatically lower than the first film with $519 million and the follow-up with $622 million.
