It’s being reported by Warner Bros. Pictures executives that Dwayne Johnson has leaked false Black Adam profit information, which is a pretty big claim to make. This report comes to us from Puck (via CBR), and I have to say that this would be a very bad look for Johnson if these claims do turn out to be true.
According to Puck’s Matt Belloni, “several Warners executives” believe that “Team Dwayne Johnson” leaked information to Deadline about how much money Black Adam’s has made at the box office. Johnson allegedly did this to counter previous reports that the DC film would lose the studio between $50 and $100 million.
Belloni wrote in his article that the supposedly leaked report was “filled with false assumptions” and stated that, in the long term, “nearly all movies of this size will ultimately pencil out after every window is exhausted over years and years.”
Black Adam has been in cinemas for seven weeks now, and the movie has made almost $400 million at the worldwide box office. However, the film cost $195 million to make, and Variety’s initial report suggested that the movie cost Warner Bros at least an additional $80 million to promote and market.
This is less than the original amount of money that Warner Bros was going to spend on marketing the film. It was reported that their initial budget for the film’s promotional campaign was $100 million, but they cut it by a reported $20 million because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dwayne Johnson might have faked Black Adam box office numbers
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
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That said, even though they cut the marketing budget, Black Adam will reportedly struggle to even break even, and that’s why it was being reported that the movie could lose Warner Bros between $50 and $100 million. This total even takes into account ancillary revenue from home viewing and merchandising.
However, Johnson refuted these claims. He compared Black Adam‘s earnings to those of Marvel Studios’ Captain America: The First Avenger. The Marvel movie ended up pulling in $370 million. Here’s what Dwayne Johnson had to say on Black Adam’s earnings in a tweet:
Waited to confirm with financiers before I shared this excellent #BlackAdam news – our film will PROFIT between $52M-$72M. Fact. At almost $400M worldwide we are building our new franchise step by step (first Captain America did $370M) for the DC future.
Waited to confirm with financiers before I shared this excellent #BlackAdam news – our film will PROFIT between $52M-$72M.
Fact.
At almost $400M worldwide we are building our new franchise step by step (first Captain America did $370M) for the DC future.https://t.co/GBIgsbtnkq— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) December 7, 2022
Why has the movie been losing money at the box office?
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So, we can take a closer look at how much Black Adam has actually made at the box office to try and figure out who’s telling the truth. Black Adam earned $67 million at the domestic box office in its debut. This surpassed the original projections of $62 million. This total aligns with previous DC films, such as 2018’s Aquaman, and the movie made more money than Shazam!, which pulled in a domestic total of $53.5 million in its opening weekend.
Johnson has said on multiple occasions that Black Adam would mark a “new era” for the DC Universe, and the movie’s post-credits scene then revealed the return of Henry Cavill’s Superman, which was very exciting. However, it really seems as though the future of the DCU and Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam is very much uncertain.
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
DC Studios’ new leaders, James Gunn and Peter Safran, are cooking up their own plan for the future of the DCU, and it’s not certain whether it includes Johnson’s Black Adam. Moreover, industry experts have claimed that a sequel looks unlikely due to Black Adam’s failure to make any real dent at the box office.
The film starred Dwayne Johnson in the titular role, and he was joined by Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone. The movie was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, and the film is still in cinemas.
What do you make of this news? Are you shocked to hear that Dwayne Johnson might have spread false information about Black Adam’s box office profits? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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