Shazam 2 (Shazam! Fury Of The Gods) is in theatres this week, and the first-weekend box office forecasts are already coming in, but are they on target, or have they underestimated the movie’s potential to make money? Various entertainment sites seem to be ‘placing their bets’ as to whether the second instalment of the Wizard’s Champion Billy Batson will make it or break it in ticket sales.
Perhaps due to the film being the first movie from DC since Warner appointed co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, two groups seem to emerge: the optimists and the pessimists. At this point, as with any movie for that matter, there can be only one of the two.
Whether box office targets are met or missed dictates if the succeeding film will be possible. And David F. Sandberg‘s Shazam Fury Of The Gods, starring Zachary Levi, is no different. After all the marketing, or perhaps the lack thereof, time will be the judge whether Shazam 2 will stand among the blockbuster titles for DC Studios.
The obvious “Hail Mary” move is the recent television spot that spoiled Gal Gadot’s cameo in the movie. This was something that the director himself was not ecstatic about, but he ended up accepting it as something he had no control over.
Shazam 2 Could Either Hit Or Miss Its Box Office Target
READ MORE: Shazam 2 First Reactions Are In And They’re Positive
Take Deadline and Variety’s articles in which they forecasted the performance of Shazam 2 in its first weekend. While both sites are saying the same information, they actually ended up giving off different conclusions about the movie’s potential performance at the box office. Both actually represented the mixed impressions that the movie is giving off towards its potential audience.
While the movie is still set within the DCEU, it does not have the dark themes that its predecessor Black Adam had. The sequel sticks to its franchise tone of light yet action-packed adventure, and this time, instead of just one champion, Billy is joined by his family as a whole Shazam superhero team.
The sequel cost the studio $100 million to produce. In order to merit a follow-up movie, analysts always peg the target to be at least three times the budget. In this case, the film has to hit the $300M box office mark during its run to even consider a third movie.
Online interactions and discussions about Shazam 2 are also mixed. Fans either think the movie won’t be as good as the first or better. Now, with these forecasts of ticket sales, they are comparing it to the actual performance of the first movie. Numbers appear to be lower than the first movie’s actual ticket sales. Some fans take this as a concerning indicator.
By Friday, March 17, Shazam! Fury Of The Gods will hit more than 4300 theatres worldwide. The estimates reflect that DC Studios can expect $35M domestic and $45-50M at the international box office, giving the movie a forecast of $80M-$85M global estimate.
The first movie that introduced the hero to the world, Shazam, released in 2019, had a budget of $85M and performed very well at the box office with $363.5M. The PG-13 action-adventure movie had a run time of 2 hours and 12 minutes, churning out a certified fresh rating of 90% in the Tomatometer with an 82% audience score. Needless to say, the movie was well-received by critics and moviegoers alike.
Comparing the projection for Shazam! Fury Of The Gods to the actual first-weekend performance of the first movie, it is comparatively low with a wide difference. In Shazam’s first week in 2019, it racked in $56.8M from 4217 theatres worldwide, ranking first in the box office for two weeks.
Shazam Fury Of The Gods Half Empty Or Half Full Forecasts
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures
READ MORE: Zachary Levi Could Return As Shazam In James Gunn’s DCU
Of course, the first movie had its run before the global pandemic. However, studios are also aware of a number of movies during the peak of covid restrictions that were phenomenal at the box office. Two of these also come from DC films: Todd Phillips’ Joker and Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
While the two films are outside DCEU, it’s still something that other movies hope to achieve. Based on fan discussions, movies under the DCEU banner will likely face a significant ‘serving’ of apprehension and pessimism. For one thing, they aren’t sure if the character gets carried through the transition to DCU.
Still, the legs of this particular franchise will only be strengthened to stride into the new regime if this sequel proves its bankability. Maybe, it is also for its own good that the forecasts are comparatively lower. It allows for its targets to get easily hit. Hopefully, the movie will overperform.
Catch Shazam Fury of the Gods in theatres starting this week. Joining Levi as cast are Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren and many others.
Do you think Shazam Fury of the Gods has an optimistic forecast? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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