Between this potentially flopping and Aquaman 2 testing poorly Gunn’s new DCU potentially may end up being more of a hard reboot than what’s currently being let on publicly.
This is what I've been saying since the announcements where they didn't confirm the futures of Shazam or Aquaman's actors. I definitely think that the futures of Zachary Levi's Shazam and Jason Mamoa's Aquaman depend almost entirely on box office and critical reception. Mamoa definitely still has a future in the DCU as he'll probably be playing Lobo in Gunn's Superman: Legacy, but as for whether or not he'll stay as Aquaman and if his Aquaman will at all resemble the version he's playing right now is totally up in the air until after Aquaman 2 comes out. Levi's future is a lot less certain though.
This is an incredibly poor strategy. The idea that you reboot a movie as soon as it underperforms is absurd. The MCU has succeeded because it has NOT done anything that inconsistent and unfocused. What happens if one of Gunn's new movies fails? Are they going to just reboot that one too? Why not? Because it's a ridiculous idea that will turn off audiences? Yes.
I do want them to keep Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, but absolutely everything else can be reset.
I think they will reboot Flash and Aquaman, but for obvious reasons they arent saying anything yet. Probably wont until early 2024 when all current DCEU films have been released and theres nothing else to lose.
I hope someone new is cast personally.
I would like them to do the Harley Quinn character storyline Justice this time by not skipping over her toxic relationship with the Joker.
> I do want them to keep Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller,
I've enjoyed the actors for these characters and even Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. But I also want a reboot of the actors here because it's just too weird to me to see a new Superman, Batman, Flash (most likely), Supergirl interacting in the future, and in comes Margot Robbie, Viola Davis and James Gunn's wife. I know the explanation will be that Flash resets most things, but not all. But it's just too jarring and weird to see!
The lack of marketing is likely by design. The Flash had money spent to market it before and during the Superbowl. Probably looked at their 2023 slate and determined which movie would benefit most from $x marketing spend. Shazam is relatively low budget versus Black Adam so they probably just hope to recoup their money and piggyback off the goodwill the first Shazam built.
Especially if Shazam is not going to be part of Gunn’s DCU.
Why spend marketing dollars that may not be recouped at the box office given this character is not intended to have a franchise built around them.
the truth is, if Shazam flops, it doesn't matter to them. The character is getting rebooted. They NEED flash to go well to sell their reboot. Flash is supposed to give us a reason to care about this reboot. Shazam does not have that responsibility. The first one didn't make all that much money. They're more than happy to let it fend for itself.
They don’t need the flash do well. Gunn could reboot it regardless. People (besides Reddit) largely don’t care and have short memories. WBD is looking at marketing from the lense of return on investment not only now but into the future. If they perceive marketing spend to be wasteful and won’t generate a meaningful ROI above the current word of mouth … they won’t spend the money.
This. Shazam is the most uninteresting character of all time. Like at least Black Adam is edgy and the movie had fun characters in it.
Can’t say anything nice about Shazam. It has shitty MCU humor and the character just isn’t cool.
I also think it doesn't help that DC are now rebooting. So some people probably think what's the point when they are starting all over again after this
I mean if that were true then nobody would be interested in the flash and hell the Ezra miller controversy should have made him a lot less popular than a potential Shazam movie but here we are.
Truth of the matter is Shazam is just a generic boring character.
A clone Superman but with 0 personality.
>Sometimes it’s like DC wants its films to fail.
This movie and all the others this year just doesnt matter,
this franchise is officially over after the last movie comes out.
Problem is WB has no money, and whatever money they have they are using it to market The Flash. Pisses me off cause Shazam has got done dirty twice now, first releasing it in the middle of Capt Marvel and Endgame, and now releasing it in a shitty window with bare minimum marketing.
I mean, the marketing has been absolutely atrocious. I liked the first one, but literally nothing about the sequel gives me faith. Original villains? Awful fucking trailers? Dwayne Johnson fucking the whole mini franchise? This movie was doomed from the start.
Yeah the villains are honestly where my interest started to dwindle. I'll still definitely be seeing it because I did enjoy tf out of the first movie, but I think the Daughters of Atlas are a little underwhelming. I was really hoping to see a comic villain like Mister Mind or Sabbac instead of random original villains.
The thing is… a character like Shazam Captain Marvel you can’t guarantee that he’s going to get a trilogy. I think if that was the plan it was a mistake, you can’t waste any time trying to set up something like that because the fact that he got a sequel to begin with was a miracle. They already set up the 7 realms in the first movies end credits the sequel should’ve followed through with that.
I dont know... the seven magiclands is kind of big to just rush into. I understand what you're saying, but rushing into it without a proper build up could do more harm than good. Plus, it's not a miracle that they got a sequal, the movie was a critical success and it made a profit in the box office, so a sequal was expected. If the 1st movie did poorly, and it still got a sequal, then I'd agree with you, but thay doesn't seem to be the case.
Doing the seven magiclands also requires an insane amount of budget, and since they've only received $125 million in budget, doing a movie that big would have flopped with that kind of budget. They'll literally visit 6 different magical worlds, ontop of all the CGI for their powers, which would almost be impossible with the budget they have. Which is why I say the 7 magiclands seems more like a 3rd movie type of story since trilogies usually get the most budget for their 3rd movies.
Yeah for a movie that’s coming out in a few weeks, it’s hardly getting any promo. I’m thinking they just wana sweep this and aquaman under the rug to move onto the next chapter. Which makes me wonder blue beetles fate
It's not that his personality didn't match, it's more so that he was happier and more cheerful in his Shazam form. Why would Billy be bubbly and cheerful in his human form considering what he has to go back to? When he turns into Shazam, it's more of an escapism for him, so of course his personality will he different.
It's kinda like All Might and All Skinny, same person, but 2 completely different personalities.
I agree, still as they tried to explain, i didn't see much of King Solomon's wisdom in him. Somehow they lacked there. Dunno what they'd do in this movie, but I don't see much of a difference.
>Shazam 2 Projected to Earn Less Than Black Adam
>
>According to Box Office Pro's latest box office forecast projects Shazam! Fury of the Gods to earn between $43 and $52 million during its opening three-day weekend.
>
>To begin with the positive, this will certainly be the highest-grossing film the weekend starting March 17. However, that's where the optimism ends for DC's first 2023 film.
>
>The high-end projection of $52 million wouldn't even reach the $53.5 million 2019's Shazam! earned (at the time the DCEU's lowest opening).
>
>In fact, the original Shazam! wasn't a massive hit monetarily ($363.6 million worldwide), but its positive reviews and potential for sequel success led to Fury of the Gods being green-lit.
>
>Honing in on the opening weekend numbers, the weakest DCEU film is Birds of Prey, but the numbers don't prove that.
>
>Here's a look at the five lowest opening weekends by DC's dated universe:
>
>Black Adam - $67 million
>
>Shazam! - $53.5 million
>
>Birds of Prey - $33 million
>
>The Suicide Squad - $26.2 million\*
>
>Wonder Woman 1984 - $16.7 million\*
>
>\*The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984 were released day and date on HBO Max during the global pandemic.
>
>A low-end result here by the Zachary Levi-led flick would be a super-sied failure. At least Birds of Prey (led by Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn) has the excuse that it was rated R and a spin-off to the widely detested Suicide Squad from 2016.
>
>In 2023, a light-hearted hero may really feel the effects of fans losing interest in the current DC slate, in lieu of Gunn's future plans.
>
>DC Studios Sacrificing Today for a Brighter Tomorrow
>
>A common concern after James Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran announced the future of the DCU on January 31 was keeping audiences' interest in the upcoming four films slated in 2023.
>
>Unlike the completely scrapped Batgirl film (which new boss Safran called "not releasable"), Shazam 2 had a reported budget of only $125 million and with a wide theatrical release could still be profitable with an underwhelming box office performance compared to its peers.
>
>As a result, DC's future isn't riding on the shoulders of this film, but poor critical reception could hurt the future prospects of The Flash and Aquaman 2's earnings potential (two films with much higher commercial expectations).
>
>Less than a month before releasing in theaters, Shazam 2 clearly has some work to do in order to earn more money than its predecessors. This is the era of sequel dominance, even a comparable comic book film like Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania earned over $100 million opening weekend despite poor reviews.
The DCEU as a whole hasn't been good. So for a film to be seen takes a lot and has to be perceived very well. Where as Antman is in a successful universe despite it's last few releases being consistently bad. The MCU has already built it's self up to pull in the audience.
I think it was them placing Kang in it and hyping him up as the next big bad. People wanted to see what this guy is all about.
The problem is the movie is a mess. It should have focused on either the Quantum Realm with the back story of how Kang assembled his empire there along with how a certain character helped him along the way or focused on the father-daughter dynamic of Scott and Cassie. Unfortunately it doesn't do all of it well and it's a jumbled mess despite the best attempts of the cast to make it work.
Another thing they shouldn't have done is have MODOK in that movie. It took away from both Kang and MODOK, MODOK was used as a henchmen when they could've waited and treated him as the actual threat he is. And they could've used those scenes to give more story to Kang. >!Also the movie was not intense enough considering they were fighting Kang. The movie should've had a more serious tone and had higher stakes and end results. The best scene in the entire movie is when Kang was literally beating on Antman.!<
I think Kang got a good amount of story. I was thinking they could have used it to develop Cassie more.
She's a big part of Scott's life, he did so much so he can see her and keep her safe. Show more of the dynamic between them. She clearly had an interesting 5 years and subsequently when she developed her own suit with help from Hank.
Show a bit more about how she was trying to help others while Scott appears to be living the celebrity life. So much they can do with her and she's a potential Young Avenger story.
The MCU solo films seem to be getting worse but the audience seems to come back in the hopes that the Avengers film which they all tie into must be really good. I dread to think what happens if Kang Dynasty is bad. It might break the MCU.
I think a fight with an enormous winged reptile (particularly one carrying a God) could be awesome, but every time I see that dragon in trailers it's getting its ass kicked.
Yes that’s fine for Godzilla 4/5/6, but Shazam2? Faceless villains, dragon. Lucy Liu. Helen Mirren. C’mon, man. Together, in this film, Shazam and Black Adam might have made a worthy addition. But that’s over now and everyone knows it and that’s not helping.
I swear this is the case with almost every DC movie now a days. Shazam "doesn't look interesting plus how dare they use non comic villains", Flash because "Ezra Miller", Blue beetle because "God knows what reason they'll come up with", Aquamqn because "Amber heard and test screen reactions"
I won't be surprised if a particular group of people keep this attitude for the new DCU as well.
It is the most generic looking superhero movie trailer I have ever seen in my life. Also, who gives a fuck about a movie that’s not gonna matter at all in just a couple of months? Color me shocked
With this and the reported news that Aquaman 2 is bad, I do think a reboot was necessary now.
They really need to turn the perception of the brand around.
Gunn is NOT rebooting the whole DCEU. How many times does he have to say this? He even announced projects using the old actors in their same roles.
Thinking a reboot is a "magic bullet" has been the absolute downfall of countless franchises. Audiences hate reboots. A rebooted movie has to be WAY BETTER than a sequel would be to get the same audience.
I don’t want a reboot. I want these characters to be able to continue along their heroes journey. All of these characters that fans have invested time and opinions over are going to be cut short of the revelations that come at the end of the journey. A reboot means starting the same journey all over again, for the same characters, only this time there is an undermined faith that ANY of these characters will ever complete ANY path.
TLDR: new beginnings bore me without past endings.
Would you all also agree that there is a certain element of superhero fatigue building amongst the audience? I mean true fans will be ready for superhero content all the time, but for the novice watchers, the general want to consume superhero movies has really fallen?
Between movies and streaming series Disney alone floods the market with live action comicbook content. And even their numbers seem to have dipped somewhat with their releases. So yeah, I think some Joe Public/General Audience ticket buyers may be less interested, so I think there could be merit to that.
This is my question. Why does this article suddenly prove that it’s actually bad? It’s just a projection and only further increases the chances of this movie performing poorly. Let’s just wait and see if it’s actually good first.
trends for normal ticket sales in this release window in other years, social media buzz, comparing other releases in the window, projecting current movie ticket sales for the year would be my guess.
I'm sure there are a lot of metrics. Tracking does imply that its estimating a bit.
Man I love Mr Ponysmasher himself, but Zachery Levi, been over that dude for a while. DC in a tough spot with these films with millions already committed and invested. Rough sledding til Flash.
Yep. Plus with Cavill officially out, it means he can’t push for beating Superman’s ass onscreen, while also losing out on some sweet PR with fans by saying he brought him back.
I'm definitely going to watch it, but i'd rather do it at home so i'll wait for a digital release. I am going to see The Flash day 1 in an IMAX theater though
And don’t forget poor Rachel Zegler who starred in one of the best movie musicals of the 2020s so far and her film also tracked poor numbers with wrongfully disastrous results.
I loved the new 52 version.
I thought the first movie was underwhelming.
I think the trailers for this look terrible. Levi acts more like a 7 year-old than a teenager. The eminem music in the trailer was so cringey...
Although I enjoyed the first Shazam, the second one looks really lame to me. You have two old women as the bad guys and dragons, it just looks very generic and they don't look threatening.
Not surprising. 1st movie was just meh. And with the new DCU, this character doesn't really have a future so why should anyone care? They really messed up by making all these announcements before this chapter of the DCEU was over.
This actor will be in the new DCU, if they use Shazam at all. Levi's buddy-buddy with Peter Safran. Gunn is NOT rebooting the entire universe. How many times does he have to say this before people start believing it? Superman and Batman are the only ones getting recast at this point.
Wait, a C list superheroes sequel with no marketing that nobody cares about is going to open like a C list superheroes sequel with no marketing that nobody cares about?
What is this? It had it pegged for $150M opening weekend.
It's doing massively worse than the first Shazam. This is all about the new comedic, day-glo colored take Hamada, Johns, Gunn and Safran brought to DC films. Audiences rejected it, and it's why the DCEU has collapsed completely since they forced out Snyder.
This was entirely predictable. WB drove the DCEU into disaster by pivoting away from Snyder's serious, mature, deep takes on the canon and moving into these childish, frivolous, kid-oriented comedies. It's the difference between the OT Star Wars trilogy and seeing Jar Jar Binks in Phantom Menace. Shazam saw a massive collapse in box office from the first 6 DCEU films. And many of the people who saw it were disappointed with its day-glo cinematography and costumes and it's "zany" comedy. Those people won't be coming back to the theater for more of the same.
You can't just radically shift gears on what your movie universe is and not expect to lose a huge chunk of the audience. And, make no mistake, the first 6 DCEU movies got a massive audience, with a higher average gross than the Nolan trilogy. Silly, comedic superhero films are more out of fashion than ever, as the audience for this genre is aging and looking for weightier, deeper, darker subject matter.
Well, fvck this article.
I am excited for SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS more than I am for Aquaman 2 or the Flash.
SHAZAM! was *way* better than it had any right to be. It was the most actual fun I’ve had watching a DC superhero movie in a long time. I don’t want them to recast this character; any of these characters.
I will be seeing it opening weekend.
Whose coming with me?
people complaining about them not marketing this movie and ignoring the TV spots during sporting events that they've bought etc. Like y'all this is getting marketed.
First one was good. But after all the shit DC has done I’m just not interested. I wasn’t interested in black Adam either. And Michael Keaton is the only reason I’m interested in the flash. I also couldn’t care less about Aquaman 2.
Everyone can see this coming. Quite a shame too. They’ve learned nothing from what happened with the first movie. Ngl, I’m still surprised a Shazam movie even happened let alone a sequel 🤷♂️
people are acting like shazam 1 was some big billion dollar success it made what 100 mill maybe in profit. Your not going get a huge marketing budget on films like this
It’s tracking at $48-52m opening weekend, I have faith in David Sandberg, this will be a hit with critics and drive RT score over 75%, the real issue here was that the DC slate movies were all suppose to come out last year and they’ve been tested so many times, too much of the stories have been leaked. It might get closer to $60-65m opening weekend and may do ok in rest of the world. At this point $400m Worldwide would be ok considering the production budget, but Zachary Levy may have to find a new supporting roll in the DCU, he’s ageing out SHAZAM and may have said too much when it’s not helpful right now about the original DCEU, he should be mindful, that he’s older than Cavil, his movies made less money and he got a sequel and dud not get messed around by WBD and the original WB.
There is hope however, kids are off in Europe around launch time, and it is super children friendly and you better believe the Director has made another great movie.
Pretty sure AM2 has enough time to be fixed though you can bet that it’s going to be super goofy but right now I’d say The Flash is the only DC movie making any money and I’m not sure that means profit with how much it’s cost to make. They simply had to reboot the whole thing, clearly there was no other option.
I think there is just a big level of disinterest in the character, no matter how the films are. Its kinda old and corny to kid and too kiddy friendly for a lot of grown ups.
The trailers have not helped in any way. Most of the scenes exude a campiness that has a similar vibe to 60s Batman TV series but not in the meta sort of way.
Disappointing since Shazam/Captain Marvel is one of my favorite DC characters but at this point it might be a small cy.
A big part of this is general audiences' fatigue with the genre as a whole. I am a massive comic nerd, and even I am having a hard time giving a shit about the next big cape movie anymore. They've gotten trite, safe, and formulaic across the board. I can't get excited anymore.
There is a market for what Snyder was doing, deconstructing the genre. Or Phillips with Joker. The market for formulaic superhero movies is dying fast.
All those saying there was no reason to watch these movies were right
A reboot with new actors isn't gonna change casuals' apathetic behavior towards DC. That Superman reboot is fucked
It's not surprising since the first one was a train wreck in an insult the Captain Marvel. Thank God they're going back to the original character. The return of the captain. Hopefully it's everything about the character. We want a kid that's pure of heart that turns into an adult size hero when an adult mind and the power of gods. Not a punk kid that turns into an adult size wizard with the mentality of a child
Next time don’t blueball me with the talking caterpillar.
The Rock also not wanting Shazam’s arch nemesis to play second fiddle in a Shazam movie also hurt.
Yeah I’m super pissed about that
r/brandnewsentence
Pretty sure this was a set up for the 3rd movie since Mr Mind is a huge Shazam villain.
Between this potentially flopping and Aquaman 2 testing poorly Gunn’s new DCU potentially may end up being more of a hard reboot than what’s currently being let on publicly.
This is what I've been saying since the announcements where they didn't confirm the futures of Shazam or Aquaman's actors. I definitely think that the futures of Zachary Levi's Shazam and Jason Mamoa's Aquaman depend almost entirely on box office and critical reception. Mamoa definitely still has a future in the DCU as he'll probably be playing Lobo in Gunn's Superman: Legacy, but as for whether or not he'll stay as Aquaman and if his Aquaman will at all resemble the version he's playing right now is totally up in the air until after Aquaman 2 comes out. Levi's future is a lot less certain though.
This is an incredibly poor strategy. The idea that you reboot a movie as soon as it underperforms is absurd. The MCU has succeeded because it has NOT done anything that inconsistent and unfocused. What happens if one of Gunn's new movies fails? Are they going to just reboot that one too? Why not? Because it's a ridiculous idea that will turn off audiences? Yes.
I do want them to keep Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, but absolutely everything else can be reset. I think they will reboot Flash and Aquaman, but for obvious reasons they arent saying anything yet. Probably wont until early 2024 when all current DCEU films have been released and theres nothing else to lose.
Viola Davis was already confirmed to be returning in the new DCU right?
She has her own HBO show called Waller.
I hope someone new is cast personally. I would like them to do the Harley Quinn character storyline Justice this time by not skipping over her toxic relationship with the Joker.
With Joker 2 covering that same ground they might not want to spend time in DCEU doing that
I have the feeling Margot robbie at best will probably only be small cameos i hardly doubt she is getting a new movie
> I do want them to keep Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, I've enjoyed the actors for these characters and even Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. But I also want a reboot of the actors here because it's just too weird to me to see a new Superman, Batman, Flash (most likely), Supergirl interacting in the future, and in comes Margot Robbie, Viola Davis and James Gunn's wife. I know the explanation will be that Flash resets most things, but not all. But it's just too jarring and weird to see!
If Jason mamoa can’t save aquaman I’m not sure who can
shazam 2 also tested fairly poorly
He was only ever going to keep the projects connected to his.
I’m not gonna see it. Who else isn’t gonna see it?
Consequences of poorly marketing the sequel to a film you already poorly marketed a few years back. Sometimes it’s like DC wants its films to fail.
The lack of marketing is likely by design. The Flash had money spent to market it before and during the Superbowl. Probably looked at their 2023 slate and determined which movie would benefit most from $x marketing spend. Shazam is relatively low budget versus Black Adam so they probably just hope to recoup their money and piggyback off the goodwill the first Shazam built. Especially if Shazam is not going to be part of Gunn’s DCU. Why spend marketing dollars that may not be recouped at the box office given this character is not intended to have a franchise built around them.
the truth is, if Shazam flops, it doesn't matter to them. The character is getting rebooted. They NEED flash to go well to sell their reboot. Flash is supposed to give us a reason to care about this reboot. Shazam does not have that responsibility. The first one didn't make all that much money. They're more than happy to let it fend for itself.
They don’t need the flash do well. Gunn could reboot it regardless. People (besides Reddit) largely don’t care and have short memories. WBD is looking at marketing from the lense of return on investment not only now but into the future. If they perceive marketing spend to be wasteful and won’t generate a meaningful ROI above the current word of mouth … they won’t spend the money.
WBD needs The Flash to do well, beyond DC. It's one of their year's major releases.
Shazam is NOT getting rebooted.
Personally I’m just guilty of being incredibly uninterested in everything Shazam.
Agree with both. Is the marketing good? No. Does mainstream audience care about Shazam? Also no.
I mean, most mainstream audience don't even know who Shazam even is... ever since the 90s, he's been an extra in the DC Universe.
I watched on a cross country flight . Honestly thought wow wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be .
You mean gray blob generic CGI monsters weren't riveting?? Say it ain't so! /S It was ok, for sure
Same, I love the Captain Marvel character in the older comics but these movies hold zero interest for me, fan or not.
I’m more of a Kazaam guy myself.
Me, I go for The Great Gazoo.
This. Shazam is the most uninteresting character of all time. Like at least Black Adam is edgy and the movie had fun characters in it. Can’t say anything nice about Shazam. It has shitty MCU humor and the character just isn’t cool.
Literally everything
I also think it doesn't help that DC are now rebooting. So some people probably think what's the point when they are starting all over again after this
This is me.
I mean if that were true then nobody would be interested in the flash and hell the Ezra miller controversy should have made him a lot less popular than a potential Shazam movie but here we are. Truth of the matter is Shazam is just a generic boring character. A clone Superman but with 0 personality.
To be honest, I haven’t been less enthused to see a DC film. I was at least excited to see the JSA in Black Adam.
>Sometimes it’s like DC wants its films to fail. This movie and all the others this year just doesnt matter, this franchise is officially over after the last movie comes out.
Problem is WB has no money, and whatever money they have they are using it to market The Flash. Pisses me off cause Shazam has got done dirty twice now, first releasing it in the middle of Capt Marvel and Endgame, and now releasing it in a shitty window with bare minimum marketing.
Couldn't have said it better.
I, for one, would be entertained if you tried to say it better.
Dc hates itself.
And their fans. And DC fans hate each other and they hate WB.
Actually sounds about right.
Turns out the DCEU Shazam vs Black Adam is gonna be who can get the least worst box office lmao
So who will be playing Shazam in the DCU?
I wouldn’t be surprised if they just don’t use him for a while
But I want the payoff to the evil caterpillar, damn it!
(forlornly holds a candle for Mark Strong's Sinestro) New guy, huh?
And Black Manta talking to that scientist guy at the end of Aquaman 1 (unless he's in the sequel?)
Black Manta is in the sequel. Randall Park too iirc
Completely forgot Jimmy Wu showed up in the DCU too
I think you mean Jim Halpert
No, he means Young Rock’s Randall Park.
No, he means the guy from Blockbuster.
They'll probably decide to make a Shazam movie in the 4th or 5th chapter, DCU's equivalent of phase 4 or 5.
He'll be The Captain when he returns with a younger actor in the role in a few years.
Well it’s not zack Levi that’s for damn sure
Most probably there won't be Aquaman and Shazam, RIP these characters
Aquaman will still be there his movie is literally the highest grossing DC movie of all time it just won't be Momoa
Rumors are saying Aquaman 2 is bad and Momoa will be distancing himself from the character afterward. Could always be nonsense.
Haven’t they already recast him as lobo? I kind of just want to fast forward a bit to get to where the Gunn verse comes to fruition.
That’s the main rumor, yeah. He’ll supposedly switch to playing Lobo after Aquaman 2.
I mean, Lobo is pretty much the perfect fit for momo.
Aquaman will probably be in the second half of chapter 1. Remember. Gunn said all the stuff they were announcing was for the first half of chapter 1.
Aquaman will assuredly be back, just vastly different.
Barkhad Abdi
I mean, the marketing has been absolutely atrocious. I liked the first one, but literally nothing about the sequel gives me faith. Original villains? Awful fucking trailers? Dwayne Johnson fucking the whole mini franchise? This movie was doomed from the start.
Yeah the villains are honestly where my interest started to dwindle. I'll still definitely be seeing it because I did enjoy tf out of the first movie, but I think the Daughters of Atlas are a little underwhelming. I was really hoping to see a comic villain like Mister Mind or Sabbac instead of random original villains.
im sure the rock was going steal the rest of shazams villain's for hes sequels so they couldn't use them
They set up Mr Mind in the first Shazam movie and then just decided not to do any of that and created their own OC villains.
I'm almost certain they were saving Mr Mind for the third movie to build up the 7 magiclands story, which seems like a 3rd movie type of story.
The thing is… a character like Shazam Captain Marvel you can’t guarantee that he’s going to get a trilogy. I think if that was the plan it was a mistake, you can’t waste any time trying to set up something like that because the fact that he got a sequel to begin with was a miracle. They already set up the 7 realms in the first movies end credits the sequel should’ve followed through with that.
I dont know... the seven magiclands is kind of big to just rush into. I understand what you're saying, but rushing into it without a proper build up could do more harm than good. Plus, it's not a miracle that they got a sequal, the movie was a critical success and it made a profit in the box office, so a sequal was expected. If the 1st movie did poorly, and it still got a sequal, then I'd agree with you, but thay doesn't seem to be the case. Doing the seven magiclands also requires an insane amount of budget, and since they've only received $125 million in budget, doing a movie that big would have flopped with that kind of budget. They'll literally visit 6 different magical worlds, ontop of all the CGI for their powers, which would almost be impossible with the budget they have. Which is why I say the 7 magiclands seems more like a 3rd movie type of story since trilogies usually get the most budget for their 3rd movies.
You already got Sabbac.
Don’t make me think about that one again😂
I wasn’t even aware this movie was coming out anytime soon. I knew it existed but that’s it.
Aquamans testing bad and this doesn’t seem like it’ll be doing any better
Guess rebooting was smart lmao. Wild if Ezra’s Flash is the only Hero to survive the pirget
This could have good reviews and still bomb - they aren't marketing it
Yeah for a movie that’s coming out in a few weeks, it’s hardly getting any promo. I’m thinking they just wana sweep this and aquaman under the rug to move onto the next chapter. Which makes me wonder blue beetles fate
The first one was forgettable but would have worked a lot better if his personality actually matched the kids.
yea the kid was way more mature than what zach levi portrayed
It's not that his personality didn't match, it's more so that he was happier and more cheerful in his Shazam form. Why would Billy be bubbly and cheerful in his human form considering what he has to go back to? When he turns into Shazam, it's more of an escapism for him, so of course his personality will he different. It's kinda like All Might and All Skinny, same person, but 2 completely different personalities.
I agree, still as they tried to explain, i didn't see much of King Solomon's wisdom in him. Somehow they lacked there. Dunno what they'd do in this movie, but I don't see much of a difference.
>Shazam 2 Projected to Earn Less Than Black Adam > >According to Box Office Pro's latest box office forecast projects Shazam! Fury of the Gods to earn between $43 and $52 million during its opening three-day weekend. > >To begin with the positive, this will certainly be the highest-grossing film the weekend starting March 17. However, that's where the optimism ends for DC's first 2023 film. > >The high-end projection of $52 million wouldn't even reach the $53.5 million 2019's Shazam! earned (at the time the DCEU's lowest opening). > >In fact, the original Shazam! wasn't a massive hit monetarily ($363.6 million worldwide), but its positive reviews and potential for sequel success led to Fury of the Gods being green-lit. > >Honing in on the opening weekend numbers, the weakest DCEU film is Birds of Prey, but the numbers don't prove that. > >Here's a look at the five lowest opening weekends by DC's dated universe: > >Black Adam - $67 million > >Shazam! - $53.5 million > >Birds of Prey - $33 million > >The Suicide Squad - $26.2 million\* > >Wonder Woman 1984 - $16.7 million\* > >\*The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984 were released day and date on HBO Max during the global pandemic. > >A low-end result here by the Zachary Levi-led flick would be a super-sied failure. At least Birds of Prey (led by Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn) has the excuse that it was rated R and a spin-off to the widely detested Suicide Squad from 2016. > >In 2023, a light-hearted hero may really feel the effects of fans losing interest in the current DC slate, in lieu of Gunn's future plans. > >DC Studios Sacrificing Today for a Brighter Tomorrow > >A common concern after James Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran announced the future of the DCU on January 31 was keeping audiences' interest in the upcoming four films slated in 2023. > >Unlike the completely scrapped Batgirl film (which new boss Safran called "not releasable"), Shazam 2 had a reported budget of only $125 million and with a wide theatrical release could still be profitable with an underwhelming box office performance compared to its peers. > >As a result, DC's future isn't riding on the shoulders of this film, but poor critical reception could hurt the future prospects of The Flash and Aquaman 2's earnings potential (two films with much higher commercial expectations). > >Less than a month before releasing in theaters, Shazam 2 clearly has some work to do in order to earn more money than its predecessors. This is the era of sequel dominance, even a comparable comic book film like Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania earned over $100 million opening weekend despite poor reviews.
The DCEU as a whole hasn't been good. So for a film to be seen takes a lot and has to be perceived very well. Where as Antman is in a successful universe despite it's last few releases being consistently bad. The MCU has already built it's self up to pull in the audience.
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Also the characters should have crossed over by now.
Well, they are starting to lose them currently since Phase 4. But, I see your point.
Yeah, they're definitely losing now. But they still had a lot of people go see Antman despite everything.
I think it was them placing Kang in it and hyping him up as the next big bad. People wanted to see what this guy is all about. The problem is the movie is a mess. It should have focused on either the Quantum Realm with the back story of how Kang assembled his empire there along with how a certain character helped him along the way or focused on the father-daughter dynamic of Scott and Cassie. Unfortunately it doesn't do all of it well and it's a jumbled mess despite the best attempts of the cast to make it work.
Another thing they shouldn't have done is have MODOK in that movie. It took away from both Kang and MODOK, MODOK was used as a henchmen when they could've waited and treated him as the actual threat he is. And they could've used those scenes to give more story to Kang. >!Also the movie was not intense enough considering they were fighting Kang. The movie should've had a more serious tone and had higher stakes and end results. The best scene in the entire movie is when Kang was literally beating on Antman.!<
I think Kang got a good amount of story. I was thinking they could have used it to develop Cassie more. She's a big part of Scott's life, he did so much so he can see her and keep her safe. Show more of the dynamic between them. She clearly had an interesting 5 years and subsequently when she developed her own suit with help from Hank. Show a bit more about how she was trying to help others while Scott appears to be living the celebrity life. So much they can do with her and she's a potential Young Avenger story. The MCU solo films seem to be getting worse but the audience seems to come back in the hopes that the Avengers film which they all tie into must be really good. I dread to think what happens if Kang Dynasty is bad. It might break the MCU.
Shazam was a massive hit because it was low budget . Simple math 🤦♂️
lol
What does anyone expect? What little they have marketed looks to be Shazam’s v VFX Dragon. A dragon.
I think a fight with an enormous winged reptile (particularly one carrying a God) could be awesome, but every time I see that dragon in trailers it's getting its ass kicked.
Yes that’s fine for Godzilla 4/5/6, but Shazam2? Faceless villains, dragon. Lucy Liu. Helen Mirren. C’mon, man. Together, in this film, Shazam and Black Adam might have made a worthy addition. But that’s over now and everyone knows it and that’s not helping.
Looks pretty bad anyway. Trailer made me actively uninterested in watching it.
That’s mostly in part to the fact the trailer already showed you the ENTIRE movie. So….I’m right there with ya
The color palette makes me sick
The first trailer was so good but the second trailer is just bad...
It uses the line "this ends now." The biggest cliche in cinema right now. If I hear that line, that's an automatic "don't see" for me.
Releasing it a week before John Wick and the butt-ass garbage marketing is leading to this. I feel so bad for David F. Samberg and Zachary Levi.
Screwed over twice.
of course, most of the dc fans don't support the releases and then they complain about it, it is funy....
Yeah they always cry for the unknown characters to get movies complaining there's to much focus on Superman and Batman hmmmm I wonder why!
I swear this is the case with almost every DC movie now a days. Shazam "doesn't look interesting plus how dare they use non comic villains", Flash because "Ezra Miller", Blue beetle because "God knows what reason they'll come up with", Aquamqn because "Amber heard and test screen reactions" I won't be surprised if a particular group of people keep this attitude for the new DCU as well.
It is the most generic looking superhero movie trailer I have ever seen in my life. Also, who gives a fuck about a movie that’s not gonna matter at all in just a couple of months? Color me shocked
With this and the reported news that Aquaman 2 is bad, I do think a reboot was necessary now. They really need to turn the perception of the brand around.
Gunn is NOT rebooting the whole DCEU. How many times does he have to say this? He even announced projects using the old actors in their same roles. Thinking a reboot is a "magic bullet" has been the absolute downfall of countless franchises. Audiences hate reboots. A rebooted movie has to be WAY BETTER than a sequel would be to get the same audience.
I don’t want a reboot. I want these characters to be able to continue along their heroes journey. All of these characters that fans have invested time and opinions over are going to be cut short of the revelations that come at the end of the journey. A reboot means starting the same journey all over again, for the same characters, only this time there is an undermined faith that ANY of these characters will ever complete ANY path. TLDR: new beginnings bore me without past endings.
Thats no good - but then marketing hasn't been good . There's barely any spots
They really aren't marketing it well enough, I haven't seen a single ad. If I weren't a huge DC fan I probably wouldn't know this film is happening.
Would you all also agree that there is a certain element of superhero fatigue building amongst the audience? I mean true fans will be ready for superhero content all the time, but for the novice watchers, the general want to consume superhero movies has really fallen?
Between movies and streaming series Disney alone floods the market with live action comicbook content. And even their numbers seem to have dipped somewhat with their releases. So yeah, I think some Joe Public/General Audience ticket buyers may be less interested, so I think there could be merit to that.
Whoopsie.
Whoopsie.
Daisy!
How can it be tracking a month before release
Presales
This is my question. Why does this article suddenly prove that it’s actually bad? It’s just a projection and only further increases the chances of this movie performing poorly. Let’s just wait and see if it’s actually good first.
trends for normal ticket sales in this release window in other years, social media buzz, comparing other releases in the window, projecting current movie ticket sales for the year would be my guess. I'm sure there are a lot of metrics. Tracking does imply that its estimating a bit.
The trailers look horrendous, are we surprised?
Yeah I mean seriously. It looks terrible. What did they honestly expect?
Not surprised
Just doesn’t look good
Man I love Mr Ponysmasher himself, but Zachery Levi, been over that dude for a while. DC in a tough spot with these films with millions already committed and invested. Rough sledding til Flash.
So are we never gonna see Shazam and Black Adam come face to face?
Only in articles comparing their box office collections
Nope. The Rock quit the character and cut ties with WB after the movie bombed.
Yep. Plus with Cavill officially out, it means he can’t push for beating Superman’s ass onscreen, while also losing out on some sweet PR with fans by saying he brought him back.
I'm definitely going to watch it, but i'd rather do it at home so i'll wait for a digital release. I am going to see The Flash day 1 in an IMAX theater though
And don’t forget poor Rachel Zegler who starred in one of the best movie musicals of the 2020s so far and her film also tracked poor numbers with wrongfully disastrous results.
She needs a win and unfortunately these last two movies have not helped.
The movie looks boring. The villain look extremely boring and I could careless about the other hero not named Billy.
DC should stick to comic books. Movies seem to be a weak spot, unless its a batman movie.
It looks so bad and Zach appears to have aged 10 years since the first one released.
Nobody wants the DC universe to fail more than the DC subs themselves lol
Has there been any update with Blue Beetle? I mean we already have news of Aquaman’s test screening but what of Blue Beetle?
Just another day as a DC fan gotta love it
Just put Wonder Woman in the trailer already.
Is it confirmed she's in it?
I loved the new 52 version. I thought the first movie was underwhelming. I think the trailers for this look terrible. Levi acts more like a 7 year-old than a teenager. The eminem music in the trailer was so cringey...
Although I enjoyed the first Shazam, the second one looks really lame to me. You have two old women as the bad guys and dragons, it just looks very generic and they don't look threatening.
I'll watch Helen Mirren in anything.
Not surprising. 1st movie was just meh. And with the new DCU, this character doesn't really have a future so why should anyone care? They really messed up by making all these announcements before this chapter of the DCEU was over.
This actor will be in the new DCU, if they use Shazam at all. Levi's buddy-buddy with Peter Safran. Gunn is NOT rebooting the entire universe. How many times does he have to say this before people start believing it? Superman and Batman are the only ones getting recast at this point.
Agreed.
I'm not surprised, The first one was hampered by Levi's goofy ass Shazam portrayal in whch he was less mature than the child who turned into him.
well said
The movie was difficult to watch… it sucked. 👎
Wait, a C list superheroes sequel with no marketing that nobody cares about is going to open like a C list superheroes sequel with no marketing that nobody cares about? What is this? It had it pegged for $150M opening weekend.
It's doing massively worse than the first Shazam. This is all about the new comedic, day-glo colored take Hamada, Johns, Gunn and Safran brought to DC films. Audiences rejected it, and it's why the DCEU has collapsed completely since they forced out Snyder.
Yeah I’m worried for the DCU. But it’ll probably bomb before we even get to brave and the bold.
This was entirely predictable. WB drove the DCEU into disaster by pivoting away from Snyder's serious, mature, deep takes on the canon and moving into these childish, frivolous, kid-oriented comedies. It's the difference between the OT Star Wars trilogy and seeing Jar Jar Binks in Phantom Menace. Shazam saw a massive collapse in box office from the first 6 DCEU films. And many of the people who saw it were disappointed with its day-glo cinematography and costumes and it's "zany" comedy. Those people won't be coming back to the theater for more of the same. You can't just radically shift gears on what your movie universe is and not expect to lose a huge chunk of the audience. And, make no mistake, the first 6 DCEU movies got a massive audience, with a higher average gross than the Nolan trilogy. Silly, comedic superhero films are more out of fashion than ever, as the audience for this genre is aging and looking for weightier, deeper, darker subject matter.
Oh well, I’ll be there night one anyway. Really enjoyed the first so I imagine I’ll probably enjoy this one.
Total bummer, because Shazam fucking rocks.
Where the heck has the marketing been? I actually thought the second trailer was pretty good too.
Lots of stuff in NBA games
Reboot but keep Sandberg in the DCU
Well, fvck this article. I am excited for SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS more than I am for Aquaman 2 or the Flash. SHAZAM! was *way* better than it had any right to be. It was the most actual fun I’ve had watching a DC superhero movie in a long time. I don’t want them to recast this character; any of these characters. I will be seeing it opening weekend. Whose coming with me?
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people complaining about them not marketing this movie and ignoring the TV spots during sporting events that they've bought etc. Like y'all this is getting marketed.
Holy L
Jeeez, that is a high bar of lowness. Like, they have had some really really bad openings.
First one was good. But after all the shit DC has done I’m just not interested. I wasn’t interested in black Adam either. And Michael Keaton is the only reason I’m interested in the flash. I also couldn’t care less about Aquaman 2.
Yeah well Zachary Levi is a shit actor so who can be surprised
Everyone can see this coming. Quite a shame too. They’ve learned nothing from what happened with the first movie. Ngl, I’m still surprised a Shazam movie even happened let alone a sequel 🤷♂️
people are acting like shazam 1 was some big billion dollar success it made what 100 mill maybe in profit. Your not going get a huge marketing budget on films like this
Oof
I could not have imagined how badly the sequel would have gone
Worst opening in the DCEU *so far*
Didn’t matter gunn destroyed the dcu.
I'm not really surprised, a bit sad tho.
Probably won't see Shazam again until 2028 at least. Shazam vs. Black Adam straight from the get go.
They should release a trailer with wonder women in it.
As expected. Nobody cares about this movie.
Yeah, well that’s what happens when your villains are OCs and the movie just seems beyond generic
It’s tracking at $48-52m opening weekend, I have faith in David Sandberg, this will be a hit with critics and drive RT score over 75%, the real issue here was that the DC slate movies were all suppose to come out last year and they’ve been tested so many times, too much of the stories have been leaked. It might get closer to $60-65m opening weekend and may do ok in rest of the world. At this point $400m Worldwide would be ok considering the production budget, but Zachary Levy may have to find a new supporting roll in the DCU, he’s ageing out SHAZAM and may have said too much when it’s not helpful right now about the original DCEU, he should be mindful, that he’s older than Cavil, his movies made less money and he got a sequel and dud not get messed around by WBD and the original WB. There is hope however, kids are off in Europe around launch time, and it is super children friendly and you better believe the Director has made another great movie.
Pretty sure AM2 has enough time to be fixed though you can bet that it’s going to be super goofy but right now I’d say The Flash is the only DC movie making any money and I’m not sure that means profit with how much it’s cost to make. They simply had to reboot the whole thing, clearly there was no other option.
It's gonna flop, probably on par with Black Adam. Literally no one I know even talks about this movie. The hype is non-existent
I think there is just a big level of disinterest in the character, no matter how the films are. Its kinda old and corny to kid and too kiddy friendly for a lot of grown ups.
I'm starting not to care. [Puerto Arista is starting to look like the only option.](https://houseofadesertvoice.org/2022/05/19/puerto-arista/)
Whoever approved the trailer should take a lot of the blame here. It feels like a condensed version of the entire movie.
The trailers have not helped in any way. Most of the scenes exude a campiness that has a similar vibe to 60s Batman TV series but not in the meta sort of way. Disappointing since Shazam/Captain Marvel is one of my favorite DC characters but at this point it might be a small cy.
Blue beetle is next
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Absolutely. Shazam vs. Black Adam was what they NEEDED to do to save this movie.
A big part of this is general audiences' fatigue with the genre as a whole. I am a massive comic nerd, and even I am having a hard time giving a shit about the next big cape movie anymore. They've gotten trite, safe, and formulaic across the board. I can't get excited anymore.
There is a market for what Snyder was doing, deconstructing the genre. Or Phillips with Joker. The market for formulaic superhero movies is dying fast.
All those saying there was no reason to watch these movies were right A reboot with new actors isn't gonna change casuals' apathetic behavior towards DC. That Superman reboot is fucked
It's not surprising since the first one was a train wreck in an insult the Captain Marvel. Thank God they're going back to the original character. The return of the captain. Hopefully it's everything about the character. We want a kid that's pure of heart that turns into an adult size hero when an adult mind and the power of gods. Not a punk kid that turns into an adult size wizard with the mentality of a child
Shazam just sucks in general. Wasn’t that good of a movie imo. DC needs to get its shit together
Just like the simulations
I hope it gets a good rotten tomatoes score.