NEWYORK –
Warner Bros. According to studio estimates on Sunday, “Black Adam” opened with an estimated $67 million, giving Dwayne Johnson the biggest box office weekend as the lead and winner. DC Comics character that he spent a decade bringing to the big screen.
“Black Adam” is a $200 million bid to disrupt the balance of power in the DC Extended Universe dominated by the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. The $67 million debut fell far short of that stratosphere, even with Johnson’s considerable draw to star in his first superhero movie. However, “Black Adam” still had the highest opening weekend since “Thor: Love and Thunder” opened with $143 million in July.
“Black Adam,” which stars Johnson as an ancient Egyptian summoned to modern times, was notably met with poor reviews (40% new on Rotten Tomatoes). The moviegoers were kinder, giving the film a B + CinemaScore. It grossed $73 million internationally for a global total of $140 million.
“Black Adam” had a long route to theaters. The character was originally scheduled to debut as a villain in “Shazam!” Year 2019! before the executives pivoted to give Black Adam a standalone feature. The TV series “Shazam!,” had a production budget of nearly $100 million, opened with $53.5 million in ticket sales and achieved a resounding success with $366 million worldwide.
However, the stakes are higher for “Black Adam”. While promoting the film, Johnson wasn’t shy about his desire to watch “Black Adam” pit himself against Superman. But whether the receipts for “Black Adam” will be enough to warrant it remains unclear. Under new leadership, Warner Bros. is overhauling its approach to DC Comics adaptations.
Jeff Goldstein, director of distribution at Warner Bros., hailed the result as the best individual Johnson film outside of the “Fast & Furious” films and as a PG-13 film with broad appeal to audiences. Respond better than reviewers. However, it was a turning point for Warner Bros. reorganize the DC unit as the studio seeks more Marvel-sized success. Next on tap is “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” in March.
“It’s all about making good movies,” says Goldstein. It’s all about finding the right scenarios. “Our studio is definitely going through a major reshuffle in terms of our production leadership and our style and approach. I think we’ll be able to disrupt this. We’re sure. focus on doing it.”
“Ticket to Paradise,” a romantic comedy set in Bali starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, demonstrates how intelligent reactive programming can be. Universal Pictures’ release debuted with $16.3 million, well above the recent sales of rom-coms, which have struggled in recent years at the box office. The film has been a huge success overseas, when it premiered last month, grossing $80.2 million in ticket sales.
Earlier this month, Universal’s R-rated “Bros,” a major LGBTQ milestone in the genre, debuted with a disappointing $4.8 million. “Ticket to Paradise” has a notable two-star advantage, and is particularly appealing to older audiences; The airline said 64% of ticket buyers were 35 or older.
“It’s turned into an event movie for all audiences this weekend but especially for older audiences that can be hard to come by,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s head of distribution. “We all know this is an incorrect demographic that runs out to see the opening weekend movies. That gives us tremendous encouragement for the weeks and months to come. .”
This is the first weekend with a $65 million opening and over $100 million in domestic ticket sales since July, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at data firm Comscore. . That’s largely due to the star pull of both “Ticket to Heaven” and “Black Adam” with Johnson, he said.
“He’s been the real engine of this box office boost despite some of the DC branding difficulties and this isn’t a well-known character as a character,” Dergarabedian said. “This is a very good starting point for Dwayne Johnson in the DC Comics mix. He’s like a box office superhero. Forty percent Rotten Tomatoes, but people just want to see Dwayne Johnson on screen. wide because he is greater than life.”
Last week’s top movie, “Halloween Ends,” dropped massively in its second week. Universal’s horror sequel, which was released concurrently on Peacock, was down 80% for $8 million. Paramount Pictures’ “Smile,” meanwhile, continued despite the typical drop in horror movies. With $8.4 million in its fourth week of release, “Smile” came in third and brought its domestic total to $84.3 million.
As more popular award contenders hit theaters, Searchlight Pictures’ “The Banshees of Inisherin” kicked off its run with one of the year’s best per-theater averages. Martin McDonagh’s drama, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, opened with $181,000 in four theaters with a per-theater average of $45,250. As for A24, Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio as a vacationing father and daughter, also debuted solidly in four theaters, with an average of $16,589 per theater. .
According to Comscore, ticket sales are estimated Friday through Sunday in theaters in the US and Canada. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. “Black Adam”, $67 million.
2. “Ticket to Paradise”, $16.3 million.
3. “Smile,” $8.4 million
4. “Halloween Ends,” $8 million.
5. “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” $4.2 million.
6. “The Woman King,” $1.9 million.
7. “Terrifier 2,” $1.9 million.
8. “Don’t Worry, Honey,” $880,000.
9. “Amsterdam,” $811,000.
10. “Triangle of Sorrow,” $600,000.
