If you thought the next DC movie out the gate couldn’t be even more of an embarrassing debacle than Black Adam, you might have another think coming. In news that will no doubt delight Dwayne Johnson (at least in private, as he prefers to make dangerous dad jokes on social media), this March’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods is tracking to receive a hugely underwhelming opening weekend at the domestic box office that would fall way below the numbers for The Rock’s failed franchise-starter.
According to expert intel shared by The Hollywood Reporter, the Shazam! sequel is looking set to draw in a mere $35-$40 million across its first few days in theaters. This is quite the comedown compared to the $67 million Black Adam made its own opening weekend, which actually stands as the biggest opening to any Dwayne Johnson movie. The problems started with that film once audiences failed to stick around for future weekends, resulting in its relatively subpar $390 million total gross.
At least the advantage that Shazam! 2 has over Black Adam is that it cost a whole lot less to make. Likely the reason David F. Sandberg’s original Shazam got a sequel greenlit in the first place, despite earning just $366 across Easter 2019, was that it came with a mere $100 million price tag. Fury of the Gods similarly has only increased that figure to $125 million, which is still extremely slim for a superhero flick and downright penny-pinching compared to Black Adam‘s exorbitant $260 million estimated budget.
Nevertheless, this projected lackluster debut will no doubt only make Johnson more convinced that he was right to snub the Shazam! franchise, seeing as we know the filmmakers reached out to him to secure a cameo opposite Zachary Levi’s Billy Batson in the sequel but The Rock had no interest. We’ll have to see how Shazam! Fury of the Gods really fares come March 17, but the chances of the aged-up hero surviving into James Gunn’s DCU are certainly dwindling.
