Warning: This post contains spoilers for Shazam! Fury of the Gods!
Shazam! Fury of the Gods' abysmal performance at the box office can credit itself to various unfortunate reasons. The Shazam! sequel is the first of DC’s ambitious slate for 2023 that will also include The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. While there’s always an interest in DC movies, there have been some serious issues corroding away the foundations of the franchise. While the strong leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran and the exciting plans they announced previously will hopefully help correct the sinking ship, they are only facing a more uphill battle after Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ release.
It’s disappointing that Shazam! Fury of the Gods started off with one of the DCEU’s worst opening weekends at the box office, because, for all the problems plaguing it and the franchise, there are just as many endearing and entertaining moments that deserve to be celebrated. It’s a silly, family-oriented romp with a lot of heart, clean visuals, and unexpectedly engaging action. In some ways, Shazam! Fury of the Gods was doomed from the start, and in others, it didn’t have the goods to back up the pitch. Therefore, under a critical eye, there are many converging reasons why Shazam! Fury of the Gods has performed so poorly in theaters.
7 Shazam! Wasn't A Massive Blockbuster Compared To Other DC Movies
Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ hopes for success were more conditional than other DC movies. Compared to someone like Superman or Batman, Shazam isn't a household name that will automatically draw in viewership. Shazam! Fury of the Gods reportedly cost $125 million, and considering marketing costs and other industry expenses, it would need to earn at least $312.5 million to be considered to have broken even. Meanwhile, its predecessor, Shazam!, actually made $366 million globally. That’s more than respectable, especially given its budget, but compared to other DC movies, it’s on the lower end.
Aquaman currently claims the crown as the DC’s best performer at the box office, with nearly $1.15 billion earned. This far outdoes both Shazam! and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the latter of which has only made $65 million worldwide thus far. The writing may have been on the wall, given the other most-recent DC movie, Black Adam. Given its incredible budget, it is also considered a box office bomb. It’s a shame it all boils down to dollar signs, but that’s the business. Shazam! captured lightning in a bottle, but its sequel hasn’t been able to, and that’ll affect Shazam’s status in the DC Universe - although that’s already a complicated issue.
6 DC Universe Is Rebooting, So Fans May Not See The Point
The disappointing performance of Shazam! Fury of the Gods may be because of the state of the DCU. Even before it was announced that James Gun and Peter Safran would be stepping up for DC Studios, the franchise was mired with inconsistencies and tonal issues, which naturally poisoned interest in its continuation. That is still progressing even with them in charge, and in this case, it’s because of The Flash. It is confirmed to be resetting the timeline as Flashpoint did for DC Comics, allowing Gunn and Safran to softly reboot the DCEU as the DCU.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ status in the DCU is quite ambiguous and confusing given Gunn’s comments and the fact it precedes The Flash. Shazam! could remain as DCU canon as it’s felt somewhat removed from the larger franchise, and Gunn acknowledged as much. Yet, he still hasn’t officially confirmed whether it will be considered part of the DCU or not. The apprehension and confusion can be seen in Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ box office performances. If there's no certainty about the character's future, some may feel that there's not much of a point in giving money and time to something that won’t have any impact on the future.
5 Shazam! 2 Trailers Spoiled Its Biggest DC Moment
The confusion regarding Shazam!’s DCU connection is only exacerbated by one of its sequel's most important moments, and the marketing for Shazam! Fury of the Gods utterly ruined it. Perhaps they felt they needed to really sell the movie, and in that case, there’s no better way than teasing an incredibly popular hero who would surely draw crowds. Specifically, trailers and tv spots spoiled the return of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Of course, given the focus on Greek mythology and the gods, it makes sense that she would appear in some form, but it only further complicates problems for the movie.
In doing so, they overplayed their hand and didn’t deliver on the hype and expectation. Not only does this reveal before the film’s release promise big things in the movie - and then it doesn’t deliver - but also for the DCU as a whole. Frankly, Gadot’s future is still unconfirmed, but after Wonder Woman 3 cancellation, it’s not looking so good. It was another stunt cameo, and it’s unfortunate that it easily compares to Henry Cavill’s ill-fated cameo in Black Adam. This may be an over-analysis, and hopefully it's proven wrong, but this could very well mark the end of Gal Gadot’s tenure as Wonder Woman.
4 Superhero Movie Fatigue Doomed Shazam! 2's Box Office Chances
Another problem that doomed Shazam! Fury of the Gods is something that it’s not suffering from alone. Overall, there may be growing fatigue caused by the relentless oversaturation of superhero movies and IP franchises as a whole. Naturally, the juggernaut leading the charge is the MCU. The MCU started off 2021 with WandaVision, and since then, there have been relatively few times when something new is not coming out in theaters or on Disney+. Fortunately, Marvel noticed the budding frustrations, including those of how the ceaseless barrage of content is also affecting their individual quality, and they’ve started to correct their course.
The Marvels has been delayed, and there may only be two Disney+ shows this year, so Marvel is seemingly learning from their missteps. Intriguingly, the DCU hasn’t been able to reach the heights of the MCU, yet this year is going to be its biggest and most ambitious yet, with four films in total. They can’t really change their plans in light of the state of fandom or Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ box office without threatening the new regime’s commencement, and that should be their main priority. It wouldn’t be surprising if Blue Beetle, especially, but even Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom suffer similarly.
3 Shazam! 2 Reviews Must’ve Turned People Away From Seeing In Theaters
Of course, in addition to the strange and overly uncompelling marketing, word of mouth and reviews played a big part in audiences' relative lack of interest in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Shazam! actually performed very well for critics and audiences alike, but the same can’t be said for Shazam! Fury of the Gods on Rotten Tomatoes and other databases. Shazam! was rightfully praised for its lighter tone and humor in comparison to gratuitously dark and serious Snyderverse, and it’s currently celebrating a 90% from critics. Meanwhile, Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ number kept decreasing, and that may have dissuaded interested parties from going to the theater to see it.
Its critic score is currently at 53%, noting it as being less satisfying and more disjointed than Shazam!. It is important to note that certain sites like Rotten Tomatoes are subject to abuse, but it’s interesting to consider that Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ audience score, which is usually a better indicator of how a movie will perform, is higher than Shazam!’s. Perhaps this means it will eventually rebound from its opening weekend blunder and sell more as fans are more vocal about why it's enjoyable and worth seeing in theaters.
2 Audiences May Be Waiting For Shazam! 2 To Release On Streaming
Many viewers will just wait for Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ HBO Max debut in light of every reason already listed. They each portend unfortunate problems for the film, but altogether they doom any interest in its theatrical release. This is becoming a more prevalent issue for movies, and it doesn’t look to be going away. The culture and convenience of streaming have circumvented the cinematic experience. If audiences aren’t given ample motivation and evidence to convince a movie is worth seeing in a theater, they won’t. They’ll stay home where they’re comfortable and can watch things on their own schedule.
While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, movies are made for theaters, especially spectacle-based projects like Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Nevertheless, the business is clearly changing, and it might be best for DC to push up Shazam! Fury of the Gods' arrival on HBO Max to garner attention considering the low chances it can recover from its opening weekend at the box office. This could actually help it get to its target audiences of teens and families who find it more difficult to make it to theaters.
1 Moviegoers May Be Saving Money For Other Theatrical Releases
On paper, Shazam! Fury of the Gods should’ve performed at least admirably. It’s a superhero movie, and that’s the best-selling genre right now. Yet, it’s already faced considerable competition in theaters, and it’s only going to get more difficult for it to drag itself out of the trenches. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is still in the mix with the best opening weekend of the year so far. Plus, Cocaine Bear, Scream 6, and Creed III have all been critical and commercial successes.
Both John Wick: Chapter 4 and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves will close out the month as blockbuster releases, and they’re getting rave reviews. In particular, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves’ early reactions are praising it as a fun romp - the exciting action-adventure comedy that Shazam! Fury of the Gods hoped to be. Things are looking good for action movies as a whole, but that’ll come at the expense of the DCU this time. Shazam! Fury of the Gods will certainly still garner continuous sales, but definitely not on the same level as other DC projects.
