Credit: Black Adam
For three weeks in a row, Black Adam scored the No. 1 spot and collected $18.5 million at the box office. That’s off the back of a solid $67 million opening, with a big drop of 59% resulting in the feature only collecting $27.5 million the second weekend. With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally releasing, it garnered $9.7 million internationally. Thus far, Black Adam has made over $350 million worldwide, and though most films could only wish that it even came close to that amount, the latest DC offering may ultimately be deemed a flop. Why? Black Adam‘s production cost is $190 million. That’s not even including the advertisement. What arguably makes these numbers even more disappointing is the fact that the studio managed to get Henry Cavill back into the fold. Though to be fair, Cavill is simply in the end credits, which was revealed before the film’s release date.
However, Black Adam needs to make double its production in order to be considered profitable. The superhero flick is nowhere near the level of a John Carter flop, a $250 million space opera that only made $281.4 million worldwide, but the latest DC offering isn’t making the numbers that it should be based on the budget. Part of that reason is due to the quality of the film. It’s ironic in a way because one of the reasons cited for the cancellation of the Batgirl feature has to do with the fact that Zaslav just didn’t think it was good enough to be released in theaters. Yet, Black Adam is currently standing at a lackluster 40% on rotten tomatoes. The 89% audience score is vastly better, but it hasn’t resulted in box office success. Even then, bad results aren’t the end-all for feature films. David Ayer’s Suicide Squad has a weak 26% and made a tremendous $746. 8 million worldwide. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice has 29% and garnered $872.7 million worldwide. These are just some of the films with terrible reviews that made excellent box office returns.
Credit: Black Adam
One of the key reasons that superhero films such as Avengers: Endgame, Joker, or Black Panther made it to the billion-dollar club is due to repeat viewings and strong of mouth. Hell, that’s the main reason why Smile is still in the top ten despite coming out on September 30th. The general consensus around Black Adam is that it’s a predictable and messy, though a bit fun, superhero feature. Most audiences clearly enjoyed the Dwayne Johnson-led feature but it’s just not bringing in the business that it should, especially since it went three weekends without any big releases. So what could this mean for the future of Black Adam and the DCU?
Given the recent shocking events that saw James Gunn and Peter Safran take over the DC universe, the future of Black Adam is unclear. Dwayne Johnson obviously wants to make more features involving the anti-hero, with seeds planted on making a crossover against Henry Cavill’s Superman and Zachary Levi’s Shazam. It’s still possible that those plans will happen as I previously stated, Black Adam isn’t a major box office flop, but it’s not exactly a white-hot property that Gunn and Safran need to keep around.
Credit: Black Adam
There’s been no speculation on what the future holds for the film, but tracking estimations see Black Adam making anywhere from $375-$425 worldwide in its total box office run. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will surely take a big chunk out of Black Adam‘s audience; however, it wouldn’t be surprising if Black Adam 2 is announced, though a tightly creative focus would surely be put on the next feature. As always, we’ll keep you updated should more news come out about the potential sequel.
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