‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ stumbles with $30.5 million debut
“Shazam! The Fury of the Gods” felt the fury of the marketplace in its theatrical opening this weekend. The New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. superhero film opened to a disappointing $30.5 million from 4,071 theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday .
“Shazam!” The sequel fell short of its modest expectations ($35 million) as well as the first film in the series ($53.5 million in April 2019), and a place at the very low end of modern DC Comics movie launches among “Birds of Prey”. Earned. ($33 million in February 2020) and “The Suicide Squad” ($26.2 million in August 2021), both R-rated.
David F. Directed by Sandberg, “Shazam! “Fury of the Gods” brought back Zachary Levy, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, and Djimon Hounsou, and added Helen Mirren, Rachel Ziegler, and Lucy Liu. Critics, many of whom found the first film charming, were largely underwhelmed by this outing. It currently holds a 53% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.
Audiences were more positive about the sequel, giving it a B+ CinemaScore overall. The younger crowd was even more friendly.
Jeff Goldstein, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., said, “The movie was obviously lighter than we thought it would be.” towards. We are hopeful that we can get a bigger multiplier.
Shazam! The total grossed up to $65.5 million.
The DC shop at Warner Bros. has been undergoing a major revaluation for the past several months, with new owners in James Gunn and Peter Safran paving the way for a DC Universe that will officially open in 2025 with a new “Superman.” Will start , “Shazam! 2” was one of several holdovers from the old regime, which also includes “The Flash” coming in June and a new “Aquaman” in December.
“Part of our company’s total overhaul of DC with Peter Safran and James Gunn is to reset it for the future,” Goldstein said. “It’s about the future for us.”
For comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian, Warner Bros. and DC have “another No. 1 under their belt”.
“They’re trying to readjust and reposition the brand,” Dergarabedian said. “You don’t change trajectory for a brand as big as DC without taking some time off. It is a work in progress and it is a step in that journey.
The second spot went to “Scream IV” in its second weekend in theaters. The horror picture, distributed by Paramount, dropped 61% from its debut and added $17.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $76 million.
In its third weekend, Creed III grossed an additional $15.4 million and fell to No. 3. Michael B. The film, directed by and starring Jordan, has now grossed $127.7 million in North America. “65” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” rounded out the top five with $5.8 million and $4.1 million, respectively.
Following its Oscar sweep last Sunday, A24 added more than 1,000 screens for its “Everything Everywhere All at Once” run, where it earned an additional $1.2 million. “The Whale”, for which Brendan Fraser won Best Actor, played on 509 screens and earned $145,230.
“What audiences are enjoying right now is the diversity of the content,” Dergarabedian said. “Overall, it’s shaping up to be a strong month with ‘Creed III’ and ‘Scream VI’ the best starts to the franchise. We can see the same with ‘John Wick 4’.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at theaters in the US and Canada, according to comScore, with Wednesday through Sunday in parentheses. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” $30.5 million. 2. “Scream VI,” $17.5 million. 3. “Creed III,” $15.4 million. 4. “65,” $5.8 million. 5. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania,” $4.1 million. 6. “Cocaine Bear,” $3.9 million. 7. “Jesus Revolution,” $3.5 million. 8. “Champions,” $3 million. 9. “Avatar: The Way of Water,” $ 1.9 million. 10. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” $1.5 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsay Bahar on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
