I think it’s safe to say that audiences are officially checked out of the DC Universe. The writing was on the wall with the poor performance of last year’s Black Adam which starred the BIGGEST MOVIE STAR IN THE WORLD, Dwayne Johnson, yet only squeaked up $393 million at the domestic box office. Even so, Black Adam opened with $67 million (and was actually Johnson’s highest non-Fast and Furious opening) which was more than the first Shazam!, which only managed a $53.45M opening.
The sequel, Shazam!: Fury of the Gods… did not manage to match that. While it was tracking to open in the $35-$45M range… it didn’t. Fury of the Gods scraped up a $30.5M debut. Likewise, it was tracking to open around $85M globally but only managed to generate $65.5M.
Things do not bode well for The Flash or Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom. These are likely the final installments in the Synderverse version of the DCU. Although, DC Studios chiefs Peter Safran and James Gunn have hinted that should audiences want more of these actors in these roles, that they would be open to bringing them back in the “Gods and Monsters” era. Yeah… audiences don’t want any more. Next.
Critics were harsh on this one. It had a Rotten Tomatoes score of 53%, but audiences are kinder with an 88% RT score. Via CinemaScore, exiting viewers gave it a decent B+. Via PostTrak, viewers gave it 79% positive. That’s not great but it’s not terrible either.
As is typical for horror movies, Scream VI took a big plunge in its sophomore frame but still managed to land at #2. Creed III came in at #3 with the guilty-pleasure dinosaur movie 65 landing at #4.
Not to rub salt in the wound, but Marvel’s latest, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is still hanging in the Top Five, even though it only earned $4M this weekend. But it opened with $105.5M which is a lot more than Fury of the Gods managed. It’s up to $205.8M which isn’t great. But Fury of the Gods will be lucky to make that much.
Check out the Top Five below:
-
- Shazam!: Fury of the Gods (Warner Bros.) – 3-day $30M/Wk 1
- Scream VI (Paramount) – 3-day $17.5/ Total $76M/Wk 2
- Creed III (UAR) – 3-day $15.3M/ Total $127.7M/Wk 3
- 65 (Sony) – 3-day $5.8M/ Total $22.4M/Wk 2
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Disney) – 3-day $4.07M / Total $205.8M/Wk 5
Is the superhero film genre dying? I hope not. I still like them. But maybe casual filmgoers are growing weary and are gravitating toward more straightforward action. The Fast and Furious franchise continues to thrive. One of last year’s biggest movies was Top Gun: Maverick. And one franchise that has seemingly only grown in popularity is John Wick starring Keanu Reeves.
Next weekend sees the release of John Wick 4, which will likely take down Shazam!: Fury of the Gods.
That will be followed on March 31 by Dungeons & Dragons which has been getting great reviews from preview screenings.
If you are a movie fan, March is packed so you won’t have trouble finding something to check out.
Did you check out Shazam!: Fury of the Gods? Was it better or worse than you expected?
