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“Shazam: Fury of the Gods” is expected to take the box office crown from “Scream VI” when the superhero sequel hits theaters this weekend. But don’t expect Billy Batson and company to break DC franchise records.
The “Shazam” sequel is aiming to raise $35 million to $40 million between Friday and Sunday, based on early estimates. Unless the Warner Bros. movie seriously exceeds expectations, its inaugural ticket sales will fall significantly short of its pre-pandemic predecessor, 2019’s “Shazam.” The first movie, which introduced the world to Zachary Levi’s comic book character turned hero by casting the magic word “Shazam” opened to $53.5 million and ended with $140 million domestically and $366 million worldwide.
Like the original, the sequel cost $100 million to produce. That’s a lot of money, of course, but it’s significantly less than recent DC installments like “Black Adam” and “The Suicide Squad,” which carried price tags between $185 million and $200 million and thus required a lot of more coins to make profit. For several reasons – “The Suicide Squad” was released simultaneously on HBO Max during the pandemic and “Black Adam” was poorly received – both films disappointed in their box office runs. By comparison, “Black Adam” opened to $67 million last October before pulling off $168 million in North America and $392 million worldwide. There was one bright spot for DC between those releases: Robert Pattinson’s “The Batman” made a splash last March with its $134 million debut, eventually earning $369 million domestically and $770 million worldwide.
David F. Sandberg returned to direct “Fury of the Gods,” which centers on Levi’s Billy Batson and his foster siblings – all of whom turn into superheroes when they shout “Shazam!” – as they team up to fight the Daughters of Atlas, who wield a weapon capable of destroying the world. Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren star together in the film. Reviews for the sequel are currently under embargo.
“Shazam 2” is this weekend’s only new nationwide release. It’s already been a busy month at the domestic box office as Michael B. Jordan’s “Creed III” and Paramount’s slasher sequel “Scream VI” exceeded expectations. And there’s more good news for theater owners: Upcoming releases, including “John Wick: Chapter 4” (March 24) and “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” (March 31), look set to keep the momentum going through March.