JamesG
03-21-2023, 12:46 AM
Box Office: Shazam: Fury of the Gods Stumbles with $30 Million Opening Weekend
by Rebecca Rubin
March 19, 2023
Shazam wasn’t the magic word at the weekend box office.
Shazam: Fury of the Gods opened to No. 1 in North America, but the Warner Bros. and DC Comics sequel fell short of expectations with its disappointing $30.5 million debut from 4,071 theaters. Heading into the weekend, the film was expected to collect $35 million to $40 million, which already wasn’t all that spectacular since it cost north of $110 million to make and another $100 million to market.
It’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.
It’s also one of the worst starts in the DC Cinematic Universe, other than 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 dismal global start of $65.5 million.
Reviews and word-of-mouth may not help in the coming weeks. It landed a “B+” CinemaScore, down from the first film’s “A” grade. It also holds a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, a dramatic decline from the original’s 90% average.
Elsewhere at the box office, Paramount’s thriller Scream VI slid to second place with $17.5 million from 3,676 North American cinemas.
Those ticket sales, 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 has added another $40 million internationally, bringing its global tally to $116 million.
Michael B. Jordan’s sports drama Creed III took third place with $15.3 million from 3,477 venues, down just 44% from the weekend prior. After three weeks of release, the film has generated a stellar $127.7 million.
Already, the third Creed movie has out-earned 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 landed at No. 4 with $5.8 million from 3,405 cinemas, a 54% drop from its debut.
The film, starring Adam Driver, has grossed $22.4 million to date, which isn’t a great result given the $45 million budget.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania rounded out the top five with $4.1 million from 2,650 theaters in its fifth weekend of release. So far, it has generated $205 million in North America, above the original Ant-Man ($180 million) and behind the 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp ($216 million).
But with $462 million globally, ticket sales for Ant-Man 3 are dramatically below the first movie with $519 million and the follow-up with $622 million.
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/box-office-shazam-2-opening-weekend-stumbles-1235558787/
March 17-19, 2023: Weekend Studio Estimates
1. Shazam! Fury of the Gods $30,111,158
2. Scream VI $17,334,035 / $75,863,319
3. Creed III $15,377,310 / $127,704,446
4. 65 $5,850,714 / $22,478,109
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania $4,217,709 / $205,980,059
6. Cocaine Bear $3,957,585 / $58,576,655
7. Jesus Revolution $3,484,323 / $45,524,023
8. Champions $3,107,025 / $10,666,930
9. Avatar: The Way of Water $2,098,036 / $678,284,190
10. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish $1,549,420 / $182,633,600
by Rebecca Rubin
March 19, 2023
Shazam wasn’t the magic word at the weekend box office.
Shazam: Fury of the Gods opened to No. 1 in North America, but the Warner Bros. and DC Comics sequel fell short of expectations with its disappointing $30.5 million debut from 4,071 theaters. Heading into the weekend, the film was expected to collect $35 million to $40 million, which already wasn’t all that spectacular since it cost north of $110 million to make and another $100 million to market.
It’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.
It’s also one of the worst starts in the DC Cinematic Universe, other than 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 dismal global start of $65.5 million.
Reviews and word-of-mouth may not help in the coming weeks. It landed a “B+” CinemaScore, down from the first film’s “A” grade. It also holds a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, a dramatic decline from the original’s 90% average.
Elsewhere at the box office, Paramount’s thriller Scream VI slid to second place with $17.5 million from 3,676 North American cinemas.
Those ticket sales, 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 has added another $40 million internationally, bringing its global tally to $116 million.
Michael B. Jordan’s sports drama Creed III took third place with $15.3 million from 3,477 venues, down just 44% from the weekend prior. After three weeks of release, the film has generated a stellar $127.7 million.
Already, the third Creed movie has out-earned 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 landed at No. 4 with $5.8 million from 3,405 cinemas, a 54% drop from its debut.
The film, starring Adam Driver, has grossed $22.4 million to date, which isn’t a great result given the $45 million budget.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania rounded out the top five with $4.1 million from 2,650 theaters in its fifth weekend of release. So far, it has generated $205 million in North America, above the original Ant-Man ($180 million) and behind the 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp ($216 million).
But with $462 million globally, ticket sales for Ant-Man 3 are dramatically below the first movie with $519 million and the follow-up with $622 million.
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/box-office-shazam-2-opening-weekend-stumbles-1235558787/
March 17-19, 2023: Weekend Studio Estimates
1. Shazam! Fury of the Gods $30,111,158
2. Scream VI $17,334,035 / $75,863,319
3. Creed III $15,377,310 / $127,704,446
4. 65 $5,850,714 / $22,478,109
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania $4,217,709 / $205,980,059
6. Cocaine Bear $3,957,585 / $58,576,655
7. Jesus Revolution $3,484,323 / $45,524,023
8. Champions $3,107,025 / $10,666,930
9. Avatar: The Way of Water $2,098,036 / $678,284,190
10. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish $1,549,420 / $182,633,600