Zachary Levi has encouraged fans of Shazam! Fury of the Gods to boost the film’s score on Rotten Tomatoes, in an effort to prove to the film industry that “this isn’t exactly the best way that we should be evaluating movies.” Levi — who stars as the titular superhero in the DC sequel to 2019’s Shazam! — made the plea to audiences during a video uploaded to Instagram last week.
As transcribed by NME, the actor made reference to the “disproportionate” gap between the film’s critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, where it currently holds ratings of 51% and 87%, respectively. “We are a far better film than some of these critics have given us credit for,” Levi said. “I would love our audience score [on Rotten Tomatoes] to get so dang high, that people are like ‘this doesn’t make any sense’ because it doesn’t make any sense.”
He continued: “It doesn’t make any sense that we got shook down the way we got shook down.” Elsewhere in the video, Levi sung his personal praises for Fury of the Gods, admitting that it’s not “a perfect film,” it remains a “fantastic, fun for the whole family movie.” Levi commended the sequel for having “the heart, the humour [and] the charm” of the original, and compared it to The Goonies and “all the movies that we knew and loved growing up.”
Referencing the film’s audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Levi said that receiving more praise from regular moviegoers on the site would serve as a “good opportunity” to show the industry that “this is not exactly the most accurate way” to review movies. “Our audience score is so disproportionately better than what our review score is,” he said in defence of Fury of the Gods. “So, obviously people got some shit wrong.”
Levi also encouraged audiences to watch Fury of the Gods instead of John Wick: Chapter 4, which premiered over the weekend and earned praise from critics as well as record-breaking box office success. “If you want to go see John Wick… go for it,” Levi said. “But John Wick is not a family movie, so if you’re looking for a movie for your family or for a date… go see Shazam! Fury of the Gods.”
Levi’s comments come amid a string of roadblocks regarding the success of the Shazam! sequel. Low box office projections before the premiere actually overestimated the film’s first two opening weekends, with Shazam! earning just $2.35 million for its sophomore Friday opening last week, on a budget of $125 million (per World of Reel). Questions around whether the franchise will continue with Levi in the lead role, as well as fellow cast member’s insistence that the film was sabotaged by trolls, likewise contributed to Shazam!’s lacklustre performance.
