Being labeled as one of the biggest bombs in the history of an entire genre while still playing in theaters isn’t an albatross any movie wants hung around its neck, but it’s the sad fate to have befallen Shazam! Fury of the Gods already.
What makes it even more surprising is that the opening installment sits as the second best-reviewed entry in the entire DCU’s feature-length back catalogue, while it’s also one of the most profitable after earning $366 million from theaters on a budget hovering at around $100 million.
A combination of factors conspired to cut off David F. Sandberg’s sophomore adventure at the knees, though, and things got so bad that it was rushed onto digital and VOD a mere three weeks after securing the lowest opening weekend in franchise history. One minor positive is that Fury of the Gods is playing like gangbusters on-demand, with FlixPatrol naming it as one of the Top 10 most-watched titles among Amazon, iTunes, Google Play Movies, and Vudu subscribers in the United States.
On the other side of that coin, having failed to reach even $130 million at the global box office so far, Zachary Levi’s return as the superpowered alter ego of teenager Billy Batson is well-placed to wind up as one of the heftiest flops in all of superhero cinema, with many analysts predicting it’ll end up as much as $150 million in the red by the time the dust settles.
Being the worst performer in the DCU is one thing, but a whole genre? Ouch.
