WBD - Warner's 'Shazam' sequel disappoints with $30.5M opening

2023-03-20 18:29:24 ET

Shazam! Fury of the Gods ( NASDAQ: WBD ) led the weekend box office as it took a turn in the month of sequels - but it pointed toward some potential "hero fatigue" among filmgoers.

The DC Comics adaptation stretched to a disappointing opening of $30.5M, easily taking the top spot, but at nearly half the $53.5M domestic opening for its 2019 predecessor Shazam.

That mirrors a comedown over at the latest Marvel release. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ( NYSE: DIS ). opened to $106.1M, and has rolled to a domestic total of $205.8M and a worldwide $462.6M so far, and it's easily the second-best performer in 2023.

But the film has underperformed its two franchise predecessors: The first Ant-Man ended up with $519.3M worldwide after its 2051 opening, and Ant-Man and the Wasp hit $622.7M in its 2018 run.

And $30.5M is a light opening for a Shazam film that reportedly cost at least $110M to make.

March's other sequels fell in line behind Shazam for the weekend. Scream VI ( NASDAQ: PARA ) ( PARAA ) grossed $17.5M in its second weekend to bring its cumulative domestic total to just over $76M, and Creed III (United Artists/ NASDAQ: AMZN ) was third-best in its third week, with $15.4M for a cumulative total of $127.7M.

Rounding out the top five were dinosaur adventure 65 ( SONY ), with $5.8M in its second week, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ( DIS ) with $4.1M in its fifth week.

Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment ( AMC ); Cineworld ( OTCPK:CNNWQ ); Cinemark ( CNK ); ( IMAX ); Marcus ( MCS ); Reading International ( RDI ); Cineplex ( CGX:CA ); National CineMedia ( NCMI ).

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