Jake Coyle
NEW YORK (AP) – Warner Bros’ Black Adam opened with an estimated USD67 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday, handing Dwayne Johnson his biggest box-office weekend as a leading man and launching the DC Comics character he spent a decade to bring to the big screen.
Black Adam was a USD200-million bid to upset the power balance in a DC Extended Universe dominated by the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman.
The USD67 million debut fell well shy of that stratosphere, even with the considerable draw of Johnson acting in his first superhero movie. Still, Black Adam managed the highest opening weekend since Thor: Love and Thunder debuted with USD143 million in July.
Black Adam, which stars Johnson as an ancient Egyptian summoned to the modern day, was notably hobbled by poor reviews (40 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Moviegoers were kinder, giving the film a B+ CinemaScore. It collected USD73 million internationally for a USD140 million global haul.
Black Adam took a circuitous route to reach theatres. The character had originally been planned to launch as a villain in 2019’s Shazam! before executives pivoted to give Black Adam a standalone feature. The goofier Shazam!, which cost closer to USD100 million to make, opened with USD53.5 million in ticket sales and wound up an over-achieving success with USD366 million worldwide.
The stakes were higher for Black Adam, though. While promoting the film, Johnson hasn’t been shy about his desire to follow up Black Adam with a showdown with Superman.
But whether the receipts for Black Adam are enough to warrant that remains unclear.
Under new leadership, Warner Bros is overhauling its approach to DC Comics adaptations.
Warner Bros distribution chief Jeff Goldstein celebrated the results as a personal best for Johnson outside of the Fast & Furious films, and a PG-13 film with broad-based appeal that audiences responded to better than critics. Still, it’s a time of transition for Warner Bros’ re-organising DC unit as the studio seeks more Marvel-sized successes.
Next on tap is Shazam! Fury of the Gods in March.
“It’s all about making good movies. It’s all about finding the right scripts,” said Goldstein.
“Our studio is definitely going through a major revamping of our production leadership and style and approach. I think that we’ll be able to crack this nut. We’re definitely focussed in on doing that.”
Ticket to Paradise, the Bali-set romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, proved smart counter programming. The Universal Pictures release debuted with USD16.3 million, well above recent sales for rom-coms, which have struggled in recent years at the box office. The film is already a hit abroad, where it’s been in release for the last month, accruing USD80.2 million in ticket sales.
“It became an event film for all audiences this weekend but especially for older audiences that can be difficult to get into theatres,” said Universal distribution head Jim Orr.
“We all know this is a demographic group that doesn’t exactly run out to see films opening weekend. That gives us great encouragement for the weeks and months ahead.”
Data firm Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian noted it was the first weekend with a USD65 million opener and more than USD100 million in overall domestic ticket sales since July. That was owed largely to star power, he said, in the appeal of both Ticket to Paradise and Black Adam with Johnson.
“He was the engine that really drove this box office despite some headwinds in terms of the DC brand and this not being as known a character,” said Dergarabedian.
“This is a very strong starting point for Dwayne Johnson in the mix of DC Comics. He’s like a box-office supercharger. Forty-per-cent Rotten Tomatoes, but people just want to see Dwayne Johnson on the big screen because he is bigger than life.”
Last week’s top film, Halloween Ends, dropped massively in its second weekend. The Universal horror sequel, which was simultaneously released on Peacock, declined 80 per cent with USD8 million.
Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures’ Smile, continued to defy the typical declines for horror releases. With USD8.4 million in its fourth week of release, Smile came in third and boosted its overall domestic sales to USD84.3 million.
As more acclaimed awards contenders land in theatres, Searchlight Pictures’ The Banshees of Inisherin started its run with one of the best per-theatre averages of the year. The Martin McDonagh drama, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, opened with USD181,000 in four theatres for a per-theatre average of USD45,250. For A24, Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio as a father and daughter on vacation, also debuted solidly in four theatres, with a USD16,589 per-theatre average.
