Although Dwayne Johnson has spent a lot of time heralding the arrival ofBlack Adamas the first step in the new DCU plan, a new report has suggested the movie could end up losing Warner Bros. Discovery around $100 million when everything is said and done. Putting it in perspective of something fans care about, that is more than the reported budget of the scrappedBatgirlmovie.
Just beforeBlack Adamarrived in cinemas, there seemed to be a very strategic “leak” that Henry Cavill would be returning to the role of Superman in the movie. While this caused plenty of buzz around the film’s release, and certainly didn’t hurt in makingBlack Adam one of the biggest recent releases by WBDfrom their DC arsenal, it did not make the movie a mega hit. As it stands,Black Adamhas taken its theatrical bow with a middling $384 gross, a long way short of the reported $600 million needed to break even.
The report published byVarietyexamines the release of the Black Adam, and even though the movie delivered Dwayne Johnson his personal best opening weekend, the bigger picture isn’t a very rosy one. According to the report, the movie’s production budget of $200 million, accompanied by an excessive $100 million marketing spend meant the movie had to rack up an impressive worldwide box office to make any profit. However, the film has not even broken into the Top Ten highest grossing movies of the year after pulling in just over half of Marvel’s worst performer of the year,Thor: Love and Thunder.
Related:Black Adam’s Last Minute Surprise Cameo was Shot Differently Before Final Cut
Has Black Adam Failed To Restart the DCU?
Probably not.Black Adammay have the star power of Dwayne Johnson, and as his highest opening weekend, it seems he has more than delivered on his part. However, when it comes to movies from the likes of Marvel and DC, the budgets require them to be…well, superhuman when it comes to box office dominance.
The biggest issue facingBlack Adamis that despite being well-known in comic-book circles, there are many people who simply don’t have that much investment in the character. Next year’sShazam! Fury of the Godsshould do better, being able to capitalize on what was a strong if surprising performance on Zackary Levi’s first outing, andAquaman and the Lost KingdomandThe Flash, despite having issues with some of their stars outside the movie world, should both pull in the crowds based on being better established characters.
The main test for the DCU is where they go from there. James Gunn and Peter Safran have not had a chance to flex their muscles yet, and it is really the first slated releases for 2024 and beyond that could well be the tell as to whether the DCU dream is once again going to take flight, or whether it will sink to the seabed. Many will be hopingBlack Adam’slow-level box office success and so-so reviews, will hopefully be just a distant memory in a few years’ time.
