Another superhero film flew into theaters this weekend, and it’s none other than DC’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Considering that it’s 2019 predecessor was well received critically and made a sizable amount of money, some might’ve assumed that Zachary Levi's sequel would do quite well. However, the movie is off to a slow start at the box office, it would seem. Of course, one person who’s taken notice of that is the movie’s director, David F. Sandberg, who also helmed the original flick. On that note, Sandberg took a moment to address the disappointing numbers with a unique take.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods is reportedly tracking towards a $30 million debut at the domestic box office, which puts it below opening weekend projections. The early numbers were as low as $35 million and as high as $52 million. As the movie continues to play in theaters, David F. Sandberg has been chatting with fans on the web. The Lights Out helmer spoke with folks on Reddit and answered a plethora of questions in the process. Eventually, Sandberg was tagged in a thread that featured the early box office numbers for his latest movie. And in a since-deleted message that was captured by the DCEU reddit, the filmmaker provided a droll response:
No worries. It’s not like this comes as a surprise. I saw where this was heading a long time ago. I’ll be alright though. I got paid all my money upfront
It’s safe to assume that the 42-year-old director probably would’ve loved for his film to have a better showing in its opening weekend. His comment, however, suggests that he’s choosing to approach the situation with humor as opposed to disappointment. (And let’s be real, some of us would probably take some serious comfort in knowing that we got a nice check up front.) Despite all of this though, it’s still hard not to make note of these numbers and how miniscule they are compared to the predictions and the first movie’s haul.
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Fury of the Gods – which reportedly has a budget of $125 million – grossed only $3.4 million in Thursday night previews, with that number contributing to its $11.7 million opening day haul. That debut figure doesn’t touch the $20.3 million that the OG movie earned on its first day back in 2019. Ultimately, that first Shazam! movie would rule the box office, raking in $53 million in its first weekend – against a $100 million budget, per Variety. So one can really understand the significance of the second movie’s poor start when considering these statistics.
Considering these early box office numbers, there’s no telling whether there’s still a path forward for the Shazamily. But it’s still clear that some fans would like to see more of them, with some arguing that Fury of the Gods’ ending sets up a bright future for Billy Batson and the crew. We’ll just have to wait and see if David F. Sandberg is able to get another crack at the Big Red Cheese.
You can see Shazam! Fury of the Gods – one of the most high-profile 2023 new movie releases – in theaters now. The first movie can also be streamed using an HBO Max subscription.
