Since the first film had solid box office results, there are expectations that Shazam! Fury of the Gods will have a similar performance (if not higher). After all, the titular DC hero has become beloved since then and the sequel is bigger than ever. It also helps that recognizable actresses are playing the main villains this time around.
However, leading up to the release, the box office projections were bracing for lower results. There were hopes that it can surpass expectations and perhaps Warner Bros. can do a last-minute heavy marketing push in order to get the audience's interest in the new DC film. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Variety has confirmed that Shazam! Fury of the Gods only managed to earn $30.5 million at its opening weekend box office. While it took the no. 1 spot in the charts, it was substantially lower than the first film which opened to $53.5 million back in 2019.
The film has also one of the worst box office openings in the DCEU franchise although the other entries were released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which makes this more disappointing since the film is not suffering from any closures of the theatrical market or pandemic-related halt.
Prior to the release, Fury of the Gods was projected to earn around $35-40 million although the final results did not reach it. The film is reportedly budgeted at around $110 million plus a marketing spend of $100 million. The international market didn't help gain the numbers as it only added $35 million from 77 countries.
Box office analysts have cited the lack of event-level hook as the potential reason why the film did not do well on its opening weekend. While the first film was a success, the character didn't go anywhere near the level of any of the DC films featuring A-list heroes.
There are also speculations that the incoming reboot of the DCU franchise also contributed to the film's disappointing box office since it doesn't have any strong momentum moving forward and it makes the audience uninterested to check out the film as they would rather wait for its HBO Max release.
It is interesting to see how its box office legs will go in the coming weeks although it might have a difficult time since there are upcoming competitions such as John Wick: Chapter 4, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Also Read: Rachel Zegler Trends After Blunt Statement Towards DCU's Shazam
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