Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods has managed to pull in some pretty good reviews from those who have seen the movie this weekend, but unfortunately, the actual number who have ventured out to cinemas to see the DC movie is not much to write home about. While a global opening weekend of $65.5 million is nothing to be sniffed at for many films, there is a greater expectation for superhero movies. The only good thing in the Shazam! sequel’s favor is that it didn’t have anywhere near the budget of Black Adam to try and make up.
Despite there being some promising expectations for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, with projections towards the end of last week still suggesting the movie was on target to hit around $85-90 million, that just has not happened. There seems to have been a number of reasons for this, including a general poor gross in China, which has been seen in most recent Hollywood releases in the country, a lack of interest from many DC fans, and the fact that many of the secrets of the movie seemed to have been revealed in marketing, including a Wonder Woman appearance.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods can still make a decent total box office in the coming weeks, but it is another disappointment for the final stage of the old DCEU following Black Adam’s so-so performance last year. This means that all eyes are now on The Flash to deliver in the summer, and all the signs are that Ezra Miller’s movie could be the jewel in a rather dusty DC crown.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods Director Is Disappointed at Black Adam Clash Being Off the Table
While the new DCU plans are moving ahead at speed, the Shazam! Fury of the Gods director has been lamenting what might have been in another world if Shazam and Black Adam had been allowed to come together on screen for a face-off. While David F. Sandberg has been talking about how some of the characters from Black Adam’s Justice Society were meant to be in the Shazam! sequel, but it fell through; he also commented on how he really feels a Black Adam brawl being scrapped is a missed opportunity. He said:
"The thing about Black Adam is that he has the same powers as Shazam, and we did that in the first movie where we gave Sivana [Mark Strong] the same power. So I don’t think the fight itself would’ve been super interesting, but I do think it’s a missed opportunity. What makes the most sense is to have them fight each other, so it’s money left on the table. But it’s how it is."
Of course, we are now left wondering exactly where Shazam will fit into the new DCU, if at all. Considering the movie is a mostly throwaway affair regarding its actual connection with anything else in either the DCEU or the new DCU, the question of whether Zachary Levi will be back again remains unanswered. However, based on the weekend box office of the latest movie, it doesn’t look good for Shazam! 3.