‘Shazam 2’ Reaches $11.7 Million On Its Opening Day – Miscellaneous

© Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett C

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ is massive for a #1 opening at the box office, though the DC Comics version is expected to fly lower than its predecessor.

Fury of the Gods grossed $11.7 million in ticket sales on its opening day, a figure that includes $3.4 million in Thursday previews. That’s nearly half of the $20.3 million the original 2019 release took in on its first day of release, and it’s well on its way to the $53 million bracket. Fury of the Gods has a production budget of $125 million, which is $25 million higher than its predecessor.

Opening in 4,071 theaters, the superhero film Part 2 will likely struggle to reach the $30 million debut. With DC Studios under the new leadership of Peter Safran and James Gunn, “Shazam! 2” somewhat represents a relic of an ancient regime on the comic book banner. While a movie like “The Flash” was filmed before Safran and Gunn’s tenure, the pair have often proclaimed their conviction in the quality of Ezra Miller’s next movie. Gossip about the “Shazam!” sequel She was quieter.

The responses are also a step down from the resounding praise met with the original. “Fury of the Gods” currently holds a 26% approval rating from top critics on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. The film has already received a “B+” rating by the research firm Cinema Score, indicating general approval among first round ticket buyers, but even that is a notably lower grade than the film’s first “A”.

Starring Zachary Levi, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” sees Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster brothers use their transformative powers to confront the Daughters of Atlas, who threaten to destroy the world. Rachel Ziegler, Adam Brody, Lucy Liu, and Helen Mirren round out the film’s cast. David F. Sandberg returns as director.

“Scream VI” appears to be slipping into second place in its sophomore outing, projecting a 60% drop from its impressive $44 million debut. It looks like the Paramount and Spyglass Media-branded “retelling” will earn $18 million this weekend, bringing its domestic total to $76.5 million. “Scream VI” continues to outperform its 2022 predecessor, which ended its theatrical run with $81 million in North America.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “Creed III” is headed for Bronze, with an expected $15.8 million gross in its third weekend of release. Michael B. Jordan’s boxing drama has been a hit since its $58 million debut, series-high through the “Rocky” and “Creed” movies. GDP will exceed $125 million through Sunday.

Columbia Pictures’ “65” itself was in fourth place, with projected $5.5 million in its second weekend of release. Sony’s sci-fi thriller, which stars Adam Driver as a space explorer stranded on prehistoric Earth, should push its domestic gross to $22 million after the weekend.

And Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania rounds out the top five, adding $1.1 million on Friday. Now in its fifth weekend of release, the Disney version has crossed the $200 million mark at the domestic box office. It remains to be seen if the film will be able to match the $216 million that its 2018 predecessor made in North America.

Meanwhile, “Everything Everywhere at Once” expanded its 52nd weekend of release as the triumphant sequel to winning Best Picture at last Sunday’s Academy Awards. The A24 comedy is now showing at 1,633 locations and looks to add $1.1 million over three days, making for a domestic gross of $75.4 million.