'Shazam: Fury of the Gods' Opens No. 1, Still Falls Below Industry Expectations

The new DC Universe sequel, "Shazam: Fury of the Gods," may have been No. 1 for its opening weekend, but it did not have one of the most auspicious debuts at the box office. The film had a domestic opening of only $30.5 million, well below industry expectations, per Box Office Mojo.

As previously noted by The Blast, "Fury of the Gods" had a reported $125 million budget, so the budget was considerably higher than the last film, which was not a huge earner at the box office in the first place. The first "Shazam" movie released in 2019 grossed $140 million domestically and $365 million worldwide. That's a fraction of what most Marvel Cinematic Universe films bring in at the box office.

Comparatively, the original "Shazam" had a $53 million opening weekend when it was released in April 2019. So the sequel opened considerably lower and with a higher budget.

"Fury of the Gods" had a lot going against it compared to its predecessor. The film was not well-liked by critics, scoring only 53% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to 90% for the original. Not to mention, DC Studios recently rolled out its plans for a new shared universe film franchise, and there were many question marks surrounding where the "Shazam" franchise fits into the new DC Universe under studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran. Their upcoming slate did not include any plans for the "Shazam" film series and its characters.

"Fury of the Gods" was more part of the old Warner Bros. regime and was tied into the old DCEU film series. So its future prospects at Warner Bros. looked dim. Whether this had an affect on audiences tuning into the sequel is up in the air, but it likely did not help matters.

Thus far, "Fury of the Gods" has brought in only $65 million so far. At this rate, the film will come well behind DC's "Black Adam," which made $168 million at the domestic box office and $392 million worldwide.

In other news, "Scream VI" did manage a respectable second weekend. While it did have a drop of approximately 61% for its second frame, it brought in another $17.5 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total to $76 million and $116 million worldwide. Those are good numbers for a horror film with a budget estimated to be in the $35-40 million range. The film had the largest opening weekend ever for the longtime slasher franchise, and its numbers will continue to climb as it will hit over $100 million easily at this point.

At No. 3 this weekend was "Creed III." The third installment of the "Creed" spinoff series made $15 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $127.6 million and $224 million worldwide. "Creed II" is now the highest-grossing installment of the "Creed" franchise, and it's still got some box office steam left in the tank.

Next week, "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" will have to contend with a different sequel, Lionsgate's "John Wick Chapter 4." Earlier this month, Deadline reported that the film is expected to have a franchise-best opening weekend record, and it could gross as high as $60-70 million. The film opens in theaters on March 24.