Black Adam not making a profit after its theatrical run is broken down in a new report. Black Adam debuted in October, after a long development period that started all the way back in 2006, with Dwayne Johnson being approached for a Shazam! movie and becoming interested in the film's villain. Johnson finally got to portray the character, albeit in an anti-hero role, when Black Adam finally debuted in theaters and introduced audiences to the Justice Society.
A new report by THR elucidates the situation behind Black Adam's box office performance. Black Adam's box office was a disappointment, with the movie only gathering $391 million globally and receiving poor reviews from critics. The report states that following a poor test screening of Black Adam, the movie went into a 20-day period of extensive reshoots, which ballooned Black Adam's budget from $190 million to $260 million. That tally doesn't account for the movie's marketing costs, which put Black Adam in an even more dire box office situation.
Is There A Place For Black Adam In The New DCU?
Following Black Adam's poor box office numbers, multiple reports started circulating about how the movie was poised to lose money. Johnson clapped back at those reports initially by saying the movie was on track for a profit and compared Black Adam's numbers to the first Captain America movie starring Chris Evans. After the chaos involving Black Adam's box office numbers appears to be settling down, attention turns to what the future might hold for the character.
Two months after Black Adam premiered in theaters, a major shakeup happened at DC. James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed as Co-CEOs of the newly founded DC Studios and are now in charge of the DC Universe's future, rebranding the franchise from DCEU to DCU. The first new project in the DCU has been announced as a Superman movie reboot without Henry Cavill, which has Gunn penning the script. The announcement makes Black Adam's post-credits scene awkward, as it included Cavill's return as Superman, promising a future fight between him and Johnson's Black Adam, that will now likely never come to pass.
Amid the currently unknown status of already existing DC franchises, Johnson met with Gunn to talk about what the future might hold for his interpretation of Black Adam. Johnson took to social media to announce the meeting's results, revealing that Black Adam won't be included in the first chapter of storytelling in the new DCU. The actor let audiences know that future opportunities are possible through DC's multiverse, which hints that Black Adam won't be a part of the DCU and any appearances would either be standalone such as Joker and The Batman, or an event movie like Spider-Man: No Way Home. DC fans can now watch the movie on HBO Max, although Black Adam's HBO Max release timing's bad, as audiences are left unsure if Black Adam might grace the screens again one day.
Source: THR
