SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS Director Isn't Surprised About The Film's Disappointing Box Office Opening
Shazam! Fury of the Gods was projected to earn $53.3 million on its opening weekend, but it ended up falling below that and earned only $30.5 million. The first Shazam! movie made $20.3 million on its first day and the studio was obviously expecting something similar with the sequel, but it only made $11.7 million on its opening day.
In the r/boxoffice subreddit, there was a discussion about the disappointing box office take with one user commenting: "David F Sanberg deserves better. I wanna see him return to horror." Another tagged the director's account and said: "/u/dauid, we are rooting for you!" Another user added: "Damn feels so low to tag the guy in a post about his movie underperforming. I get that it's a positive comment but still tho haha."
It’s at this point that Sanberg replied, saying: "No worries. I saw where this was heading a long time ago. I'll be alright though. I got paid all my money upfront."
So, he didn’t seem too surprised by the box office numbers. I assume there was a lot going on behind the scenes that prepared him for this.
The first movie was so good! So, why didn’t audiences and fans come out to support it? I’ll admit, I haven’t even seen it yet! Warner Bros. didn’t invite me to the media screening, and I just didn’t have time over the weekend to watch it. I’ll eventually see it, but I’m in no rush.
With all of the big changes that have happened recently at Warner Bros. involving James Gunn and Peter Safran heading up DC Studios and because they are taking things in a completely new and different direction, maybe people aren’t really invested in these characters that were developed under the old regime. Maybe the lackluster reviews are driving people away? It could be any number of things, but it’s safe to say this sequel was not a success.
So, what does this mean for a third Shazam! film? Sandberg was recently asked about the possibility of that, and he responded by saying: “He definitely won’t if people don’t go see the movie. What I’ve been told is that there’s nothing in the Shazam films that contradict the future plans for DC. So the possibility for more Shazam is there and if that’s what you want your best bet is to go see the film.”
Well, regardless of Zachary Levi’s hype that the sequel is better than the first movie, it looks like the people have spoken. It’s hard to imagine WB and DC moving forward with a third film with numbers that disappointed them.
Did you see Fury of the Gods? If so, what did you think? If not, why have you not decided to watch it?