According to global box office projections, Black Adam is unlikely to earn more than the total of Justice League. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays the titular antihero, a slave from ancient Kahndaq who was given Shazam’s powers before being imprisoned for 5,000 years. When he awakens in the modern era, the Justice Society arrives to try to mitigate the possible danger he poses to the world while he decides whether he is worthy of being champion for a nation he no longer recognizes.
According to Collider, Black Adam grossed more than $350 million worldwide in its fourth weekend. Despite having the highest opening weekend ever for a film starring Dwayne Johnson, it is now expected to gross less than many of those films’ global grosses. In terms of the DC Universe, it’s also underperforming. Although it will easily exceed the $366 million total of 2019’s Shazam!, it appears that Black Adam will be unable to surpass the $657.9 million total of 2017’s Justice League, the next-highest grossing DC Universe film.
What Will The Rest Of Black Adam’s Box Office Performance Be Like?
At the time, Justice League was considered a box office disappointment because its global gross just hardly doubled its $300 million budget, which did not include publicity costs. Black Adam is dealing with a similar budget issue, as it tries to justify its $200 million cost. If it fails to outperform Justice League, it will rank fifth in the DC Universe, just ahead of Shazam! There’s also the issue that all three titles below Shazam! were hit with the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and thus compromised: Birds of Prey, which had its run cut short by theater closures, as well as Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad, both of which had simultaneous HBO Max streaming premieres.
One reason Black Adam’s box office is expected to be disappointing is that it will not be released in China. This has been a problem for many American blockbusters during the pandemic era. Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe box office smash hit Spider-Man: No Way Home demonstrated that superhero projects can thrive in a global marketplace without China, there is still a significant barrier to overcome.
Furthermore, Black Adam has most likely by now made the majority of the money it will make during its run. Each week it is in theaters, it is likely to earn a smaller and smaller sum, especially in the domestic box office, which is already nearing $10 million per weekend. Even with an uplift from international markets, the film doesn’t appear to have much gas left in its tank. There’s also the fact that the most recent MCU film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was released on October 11, so the public’s focus has already shifted to the latest superhero offering.
Source: Collider
[…] This makes it the DC Universe picture with the lowest reviews since the 2017 theatrical release of Justice League. Relying solely on the appeal of Johnson in the title role and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate […]