Newly released DC film, Black Adam, starring beloved actor, Dwayne Johnson, has proven to be a story of trials and tribulations on and off the screen. This introduction to Mr. Johnson as a DC antihero and Black Adam himself, tells a story of a slave from the country Kahndaq who receives the powers of Shazam before being thrown in prison for over 5,000 years. After resurfacing to a new world Black Adam faces the external conflict of the Justice Society viewing him as an immediate threat to be neutralized and the internal conflict of deciding whether he wants to be a heroic figure in a nation now unrecognizable to him.
This complex story line has done well for the film, holding it at number 1 in the box office for three consecutive weeks. It’s also amassed $319 million globally to date, with a little over $137 million in domestic gross this week, according to The Numbers. This is a huge step up for the film as it has been reported to have had some challenges in the financial department since its release date in mid-October. Keeping in mind the reported production cost of $195 million (not including marketing, publicity, and development) needed to bring this exciting DC film to life, Black Adam still has a ways to go before breaking even. With a jump in sales this past weekend as more ladies came out to see the film the numbers are looking a lot better.
In comparison to some other recent DC motion pictures like Taika Watiti’s Thor: Love And Thunder, which made $343.3 million; Matt Reeves’ The Batman made $369.3 million; and Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness made $411.3 million; Black Adam is entering the ranks in terms of domestic sales. Globally, the movie is still far off from those blockbusters but still doing well. Unlike semi-successful DC stories like Aquaman, Black Adam’s is currently not screening in China, which would probably give it the $200 million boost it needs to be a DC success. Unfortunately, with the same audiences getting ready for Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever to be released November 11th, 2022 a huge drop in sales is speculated to happen.
Black Adam, although may not be doing as well as anticipated for a number one box office film brought by DC it had no issue beating Japanese anime movie One Piece Film: Red (number 2 in the box office). Not a total loss for DC and Warner Bros, as the film has left potential for more to come. This is the first time we have seen Dwayne Johnson play a DC antihero and we hope it is not the last of his involvement with DC. Furthermore the historic battle of Superman vs. Black Adam can be fulfilled and would double the attraction for audiences all over. Black Adam may have fallen short in the box office as expected but if taken advantage of, the opportunities from this introduction may prove to be quite profitable in the coming future.
