‘Shazam’ Director Says Franchise Could Continue In New DCU But Only If People Support The New Film

The marketing push for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” has been an odd one, no doubt. The questions about the film’s future amid the soft reboot from new DC Studios co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran, dominated the discourse.

The gods are looking furious indeed.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Shazam wasn’t the magic word at the weekend box office. “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” opened to No. 1 in North America, but the Warner Bros. and DC Comics sequel fell short of expectations with its disappointing $30.5 million debut from 4,071 theaters. Heading into the weekend, the film was expected to collect $35 million to $40 million, which already wasn’t all that spectacular since it cost north of $110 million to make and another $100 millions more to market. It’s a substantial drop from 2019’s “Shazam,” the first comic book installment starring Zachary Levi’s quirky hero, which opened to $53.5 million and ended its box office run with $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. It’s also one of the worst starts in the DC Cinematic Universe, other than pandemic-era releases like “Wonder Woman 1984” ($16.7 million) and “The Suicide Squad” ($26 million), which both opened simultaneously on HBO Max.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” currently playing in theaters. Zachary Levi returns as Billy Baston/Shazam in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” In the DC superhero sequel, a trio of vindictive sorceresses called the Daughters of Atlas — led by Helen Mirren as Hespera, Lucy Liu as Kalypso and Rachel Zegler as Anthea — want to avenge their father and take back the power of the gods they believe was stolen from Shazam and his crew. David F. Sandberg directs and, in true superhero style, peppers easter eggs throughout the film for the most eagle-eyed superhero fans.

When New Line/DC’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods hit tracking four weeks ago with a low $35M projection, it was shocking and not shocking to rival distributors. Shocking, because in a spring full of franchise tentpoles, many of which are seeing record opening domestic highs, how can a DC property like Shazam! not keep up with the pack? Not shocking in that — well, it’s a goofy, old Shazam!

Zachary Levi is responding to commentary surrounding the end credits scenes in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

After that Superman fake-out in the first movie, director David F. Sandberg knew that if he was going to pull off another DC cameo in the sequel, it would have to be for real this time.And he pulled it off! Just as all hope seemed lost in the final act, Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), appeared to save Shazam (Zachary Levi) and leave her favorite fanboy swooning.«We wanted to poke fun at the first movie where we had to obscure Superman’s face,» Sandberg told ET's Ash Crossan ahead of the film's release. «On this one, I actually didn't believe it was going to happen, because she was in the script from day one but… Gal couldn't be there [for some of the filming] so we had to do it with a stand in.

New Line’s DC sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods got off the ground at 3 p.m. Thursday and posted $3.4M in previews at 3,400 theaters.

$53.5 million opening weekend, beating projections of a $45 million launch. Heading into this weekend, “Shazam 2” projections have stayed at $35 to 38 million.While there is still a possibility that this $100 million superhero film could still pass the break-even point from such an opening weekend, the film would have to gather considerable word-of-mouth in the coming weeks to do so, particularly among families looking for a day at the movies as schools have spring break on a rolling basis through late March and early April.That word-of-mouth won’t get help from critics, who after praising the first “Shazam!” are very mixed on “Fury of the Gods” with a 55% Rotten Tomatoes score at time of writing.“Shazam!: Fury of the Gods” is one of four DC films that were greenlit by the superhero label’s previous leadership, with the others being “The Flash” in June, “Blue Beetle” in August, and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” on Christmas Day.

Jordan Moreau The “Fury of the Gods” may not be all that furious. Warner Bros. and DC’s “Shazam” sequel is taking flight with $3.4 million at the domestic box office in Thursday previews, behind the original movie’s preview haul in 2019. The sequel to Zachary Levi’s superhero movie will land with a smaller opening than its predecessor. The first “Shazam” movie had $5.9 million in Thursday previews before opening with $53.5 million in April 2019. It went on to gross $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. However, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” is only expected to bring in $35 million to $40 million. Each of the “Shazam” movies cost $100 million to produce, but that’s a significant drop from the original.

DC superhero outing Shazam! Fury Of The Gods hits cinemas this month.Directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out), the sequel sees Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster siblings transform into superheroes once again to take on a new threat in the Daughters of Atlas.Zachary Levi returns as the super-charged alter-ego of Billy, aka Shazam.

One of the things that made “Shazam!” so engaging, entertaining, and different was that it brought humor, an endearing irreverence, and an exploration and development of character that satisfied the initiated but also drew in the unfamiliar. It felt natural, full of vigor, and inspired.

The Shazamily is back, and on a much larger scale, but at its heart this superhero saga is still about family, and that’s the good thing here.

In the pantheon of DC superhero movies, David F. Sandberg’s “Shazam!” still stands out as something special: an emotional, character-driven film with good humor and an actual point to make that never let flashy spectacle get in the way of telling a wonderful, personal story.It would be nice to report that the sequel, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” follows in that tradition.

Carla Renata For the first time in more than two years, the cast of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” reunited for the red carpet premiere of their insanely action-packed sequel. Complete with an arcade of pinball machines, video games, cornhole, lightning bolt photo ops and a Skittles bouncy house, the pre-party was pure unadulterated joy. While director David F. Sandberg couldn’t join due to Covid, returning cast members Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, D.J. Cotona, Grace Caroline Currey, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews, Djimon Hounsou and newbies Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren walked the rain-soaked carpet.

“Shazam: Fury of Gods” is anticipated to overtake “Scream VI” and rule the box office this week, but the total gross won’t shatter any records.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods finally lands in a rainy windswept Los Angeles tonight for its premiere at the Regency Village. But the franchise’s filmmaker David F. Sandberg won’t be in attendance after testing positive for Covid.

Superheroism is serious business, or at least that’s what the rubble-colored glower-fests clogging cineplexes these days would have us believe. But director David F.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” is expected to take the box office crown from “Scream VI” when the superhero sequel opens in theaters over the weekend. But don’t expect Billy Batson and company to break any DC franchise records. The “Shazam” sequel is aiming to collect a so-so $35 million to $40 million between Friday and Sunday, based on early estimates. Unless the Warner Bros. film seriously crushes expectations, inaugural ticket sales will fall significantly short of its pre-pandemic predecessor, 2019’s “Shazam.” The first film, which introduced the world to Zachary Levi’s comic book character who becomes a hero by saying the magic word “Shazam,” opened to $53.5 million and ended its box office run with $140 million domestically and $366 million globally.

DC superhero movie Shazam! Fury Of The Gods hits cinemas this month.Directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out), the sequel sees Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster siblings transform into superheroes once again to take on a new threat in the Daughters Of Atlas.Zachary Levi returns as the super-charged alter-ego of Billy, aka Shazam.