The hierarchy of power craters at the box office as ‘Black Adam’ sets an unwanted DCU record

A fairly straightforward question that’s opened a huge can of worms is a fairly simple one in theory; is Black Adam a hit?

Dwayne Johnson’s long-gestating DCU debut is closing in on $400 million at the box office, which isn’t anywhere near a disaster, but the profit margins are hardly robust when you consider the rumored $200 million production budget – plus the associated marketing and distribution costs.

The title hero’s explosive debut topped the domestic charts quite comfortably, but then Black Panther: Wakanda Forever appeared to make more in three days than Black Adam did in four weeks, which forced Johnson to hop onto Twitter to address the criticisms of the film’s perceived under-performance.

The answer may have become a little clearer, though, and it’s come via unfortunate means. Black Adam has only just opened in Japanese theaters, but it only brought in $425,000 in its first day on the big screen, which makes it the lowest-grossing one-day total for any DCU installment to have released in the country. Ouch.

That’s not a good look, especially when you consider Johnson’s worldwide popularity and the heavy marketing push that’s seen him jetting all over the world to shill the absolute hell out of the project. Black Adam is also now available to rent and buy on-demand in many markets, so those theatrical tallies aren’t going to fly much higher than they already have.

The dust has yet to definitively settle, but it’s beginning to look as if we can shift Black Adam over the column marked “disappointment.”