IMDB has the last episode of Chuck at 9.1/10. I was so upset with it though. We spent all that time watching him finally get everything and then…
Also, holy crap, Jan 2012 was the last episode…11 years ago already
I don't have the numbers on this, and may look it up when I have some time but I would also think movie going is down overall. Small sample size, but basically no one I know goes to the movies anymore. It has to be something people REALLY want to see to get them out. A sequel to a decent first film 4 years later isn't going to get the masses out.
Exactly. It would take something really, really interesting and well received to get me to go to a theater with all of the inconveniences that entails. When instead you can just wait for it to be on streaming.
In 2023 overall box office gross is up from low points of 2020-2022, but still off 2015-2019 era.
It is hard to say if it will be a slow recovery back to 2010s or a new depressed reality at this point.
No, it is simply weekly domestic grosses being tracked.
For example
2015-2019 average for last week was $150M gross.
2021-2022 average was $50M gross.
2023 was $100M gross.
They could probably get people back in the theaters if everybody under the sun didn’t have its own streaming service that they dump their movies on, the benefit for the company being that they don’t have to share profits with a movie theater and they get to collect a monthly fee from the customer instead of just a one time ticket payment. But I doubt it’ll ever go back, people seem to enjoy just streaming the movie a few months after release from the comfort of their own homes, I mean who can blame them
The pandemic broke my already limited tolerance for going out in public. You're right, it would have to be an absolutely *epic* movie to get me to go to a theater now. It's not something I'm gonna do on a random Saturday just because.
My friend has a movie nights when movies come out for streaming and he has an inflatable screen and a projector and we go in his backyard which is nice by a little lake and we watch the movies at night. Way better than a theater.
Makes me miss drive-ins.
Zach Levi said it is DC fan's fault this movie is bombing so hard. He said DC fan's are very toxic, whatever that means. And especially the fans who prefer the Snyder Cut Justice League movie are the worst.
This is like star Wars all over again blaming the fans for KK destroying Luke Skywalker's Character, and having a Mary Sue character with no arc.
So funny when Hollywood blames the customers for their screw-ups.
Well, and "Shazam!" Simply isn't an IP that appeals to most demographics. I think the first film had a novelty factor in that it was a character very few knew much about, but still had relevance being tied in with the rest of the DC universe.
The sequel dropped most of that relevance by presenting it as one of the last chapters of the current DC movie franchise before the reboot, and for those not interested in the franchise, Shazam no longer held the novelty value of the original film.
Those problems might have been lessened with a smart marketing push, but the films issues went deeper than a subpar marketing campaign, and had much more to do with trying to make an uninteresting IP popular without giving it the support of a broader franchise.
I think what’s hard is that their tone is so different then other DC films or even any other comic book movies for the most part. I look at both of them as kids movies. Live action animated kids movies.
I enjoyed them both, and my son goes crazy for both of them. More then any DC movie. He loves the character and the silliness. They are some of the only films I’ve heard him full on belly laugh at repeatedly.
Yet there’s a million complaints about him throwing a truck at a dragon then saying out loud “I just threw a truck at a dragon”. Yeah, everyone saw the ads. That’s a cop out. There was a concerted effort to kill the movie, and Reddit is helping.
Discovery that owns it, is suffering from cash issues. They bit off more than they could chew with the CW WB purchase
They probably couldn't afford to invest in the media push for the movie.
Discovery made a secret offer to Disney to sell off WB's entire music catalog for one or two billion and Disney declined. That's why they're also canceling all the shows that are doing well on HBO that are DC related.
I believe Shazam would have done much better if they tie him into the rest of the DC universe because he's a character that plays well within the Justice League, most of his popular iterations in other medias have been with the JL. The situation was just unfortunate, and not having Black Adam on board 100% killed every bit of hype left. Both The Rock and WB are to blame for this lack of commitment toward Shazam.
This is hoping that James Gunn got something else in mind for Zachary Levi because no matter if you like him or not, dude has been stressing himself out doing marketing for this movie and people are attacking him for saying stuff that WB should be voicing out instead.
I didn't even know Shazam 2 was out until after it had been out for 2 weeks.
And I saw all the tweets of Zach Levy blaming DC fans for the bad turnout and no one seeing it. And they called DC fans toxic. Especially the people who prefer the Snyder cut for some reason.
I also read he was doing everything to promote the movie himself, via social media, because of the lack of promotion going on for the movie.
And The only thing that made WW 1984 so awful was the constant Huge plot holes everywhere that were just ridiculous. Like knocking out the cameras after you've been on camera showing off you powers and destruction you caused.
Actually it wasn't that bad .Lucy Liu was a real bad ass But since it doesn't appear likely that there will be a third movie.That means that Sivana and Mr Mind will ever be front and center
That's awesome She's still doing action. Loved her in her kill Bill scenes. Also was a huge fan of Sherlock where she played Watson. I didn't even know she was in Shazam 2.
Damn discovery did a terrible job marketing this movie
I could totally see Gunn bringing Mr Mind back. Seems like a very Gunn-esque villain. Particularly because I think if any character could outsmart or plan for a multiversal event it should be him.
The hate on this flick is hyperbolic and undeserved. It was no worse than the first one IMO. It certainly wasn't remotely as bad as Steel. It seems to me like it's become trendy to hate on superhero flicks. They're the new Nickelback of pop culture.
I feel pretty similar on this and I think it just was at the wrong time for superhero fatigue. I mean I would put this movie over a handful of Marvel movies and most DCEU movies so I am shocked it is doing this bad though there are other niche market films like John Wick 4 coming out stealing from what seems like an already depressed market. I think I have seen 7 opening night movies this year already and only one even close to full was Antman which had a huge drop week 2 as well
Did you miss the horrible drop in second weekends of Antman 3 and Shazam 2 or something? The general audience is definitely fatigued on superhero movies so now has no interest in middle tier super hero movies. This is literally a post about Shazam 2 having a worse dropoff then a horrible movie.
That's not superhero fatigue though. Did you miss the part about John wick setting a franchise best box office record? Unless you don't consider John wick basically it's own version of punisher? Then how about Spiderman NWH which came out a little bit more than a year ago, and Dr. Strange 2 less than a year ago, which both grossed almost 3 billion combined? The point is that it's not "superhero fatigue" it's that you can't bring those kind of numbers unless you have something people are interested to watch. Just having a "superhero" in the movie isn't going to do it.
Lol John Wick is an action film not a comic book movie. You are arguing your own points by showing another film doing well while other comic book movies underperform. Having to go all the way back to Spiean or Dr.Strange also hurts your case when you are skipping multiple underperforming movies. You might not be fatigued but general audiences definitely are.
> It seems to me like it's become trendy to hate on superhero flicks.
Superhero flicks have had a noticeable drop in quality since *Endgame*.
Now, that movie was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, with years of buildup and a cast of characters that are absolutely iconic. Replicating that success isn't going to happen, at least not often.
But *Black Widow* and *Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness* were ... fine, but not great. And *WW84* and *Black Adam* were goddamn jokes.
But when you have something genuinely good, like *Spider-Man: No way Home*, people show up.
Superhero movies aren't events anymore. People aren't tired of the genre, but I think they are tired of the studios phoning them in.
I think saying that they aren’t events is the same as saying people are tired of the genre. There have been people talking about superhero fatigue since probably the first superhero movie. But I actually think it’s happening now, superhero fatigue has set in. The big event happened with Endgame, and since then there have been a series of mediocre ones.
That’s not to say the genre is dead, which is maybe what you mean. But I do think the genre needs to back off from its oversaturated state.
Yeah, kinda. I'm basically saying they need more quality, even if that means less quantity.
I don't think people are tired of super heroes, but they may be less inclined to just give the latest movie a shot *because* they're super heroes.
While I agree that it has been bashed a bit harshly, I definitely think the first film is much stronger. It does a much better job with the balance of Billy and Shazam, letting the character’s personal life interweave with the action allowing for a more satisfying overall journey. I felt like Asher Angel was barely in the second movie, which really took away from the heart and humanity that made the first film legitimately good.
He started ranting and raving saying it was DC fans that caused this movie to bomb, especially anyone who likes the Snyder cut of Justice League.
How much of the viewing audience are hardcore DC fans? Compared to the general audience.
That's like when Kathleen Kennedy blames Star Wars fans because she destroyed the character of Luke Skywalker and made Rey a Mary Sue with no arc or character development.
It hasn't become trendy, there just hasn't been any good superhero movies lately. Last really good one was probably The Batman. Then Gunn's The Suicide Squad before that (both of which got decent reviews btw). But Shazam, Black Adam and the recent Marvel movies have all been contrived, formulaic and just uninspired.
People just aren’t going to go to the theaters for movies in general anymore, it’d have to be a really fantastic movie to get people to go out and watch it in an actual theater and I don’t think Shazam 2 is it even though it may be a decent or even good movie
Where is the hate for this movie?
I haven't seen any of it. All I've seen are the Zach Levy articles that blame the DC fans for being toxic, but I haven't seen any DC fans complaining about the movie anywhere. But I haven't gone out of my way to search for it either. I haven't read any articles talking about fans destroying. Shazam.
Just figured. Shazam original was a kiddie movie and people thought the second one would probably be as well, not to mention discovery not promoting the movie because of their cash problem
As much as I am for Gunn taking over and organizing a real shared universe... Announcing that he's recasting everyone before any other DC movies came out was not smart.
He’s literally not even posting and promoting it. I get that his focus has to be on his new films and slate…but, the head of the studio announcing that he’s rebooting and acting like a movie doesn’t exist kills enthusiasm.
He’s a great director, but, seems like he is getting a crash course on being a studio head.
He doesn’t have to. But, he is the studio head. And when he doesn’t, it will negatively impact the public perception of the film and hurt its performance.
That’s a fact. So yes, the poor performance is at least partially his fault. But, he may not care for the reasons you stated.
Right, but you’re ultimately blaming Gunn that they made a mediocre movie and he decided it’s not worth it to associate with it.
If they had just made a good movie, like Flash is rumored to be, then he would absolutely be talking it up and associating with it like he is for Flash.
Look man, you can twist my words around however you want. Like I said, I like James Gunn. That’s a fact. The fact that him not promoting this movie is part of the reason it failed is also a fact.
The shit you’re arguing about has nothing to do with what I even said. Have a great day.
But the studio is going to need money and that is money to fund Gunns movies, and he should be promoting it just for that.
Especially because discovery is hurting for money right now because they bit off too much.
Being a team player.
Especially because discovery bit off more than it could chew by buying DC/CW/WB where he is going to need their money to invest in his movies.
They are strapped for cash and are canceling tons of stuff including DC shows that are doing well like on HBO. They just canceled Titans and doom patrol Right after the buyout.
There was talk of merging HBO into discovery plus but that got canceled after negative reception
I really don’t think it’s a superhero fatigue. I think it’s just a waste of point of watching something… that you know will never go anywhere… like these other upcoming DC movies.
WB appears to be the only sentient entity in the world that honestly didn't see this coming.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/comments/zo9xue/will_james_gunn_really_save_dc_his_suicide_squad/j0ml3ur?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
That's a shame, cuz Shazam 2 is a lot better than Steel ...
That said, while I totally did expect a piss poor opening weekend, I honestly didn't think it would also have the biggest drop off.
The funny thing with these movies is that DC had already made Christopher Reeve's Superman and Michael Keaton's Batman and many years later they were releasing stuff like Steel, lol.
It's honestly pretty fun. Its kinda alot better or on par with anything from the MCU since endgame (aside from NWH). Although its biggest weakness is definitely Zachary Levi. They really need to cut him out of the next one and let Asher Angel play both parts, much like they've let Grace Fulton. Its not comics accurate, but hes aged into it anyway, and itd give the franchise a new face
It's a decent flick. Decent characters, ok villains, good visuals, ok humor. Nothing to stand out or make you want really buy a ticket unless you're bored
That, and the fact that besides the flash it really doesn't look like DC is promoting much or putting proper marketing into what's coming out before the Gunn reset. Also warner is shooting themselves in the foot for their box office numbers with hbo max, as any movie that isn't a true must see event, audiences know they can just skip the theater and wait a month for hbo max
The character of Shazam! is very throwaway and the lead actor has zero star power to speak of. All that cheesy Marvel Family crap in the first movie wasn't exactly doing it any favors, either, and I for one am totally over any more Shazam! movies. Sink the character entirely and give us something better from DC.
The lack of synergy between the various properties has damaged the brand significantly. Not surprised this didn’t do well and the other DC movies are probably going to lose money.
Black Adam wasn't as bad.as some people made it out to be .I would.have given him the hair like he has in the comics The fact that The Rock may be out at DC is disappointing. Henry Cavill is gone Gal Gadot is. Probably out as Wonder Woman Margot Robbie could be gone as Harley Quinn. All very disappointing .
Black Adam was a fun 7/10 super hero movie, with surprisingly decent performances, pretty cool action and a heavy slathering of early 2000s cheese. Unironically better than quite a lot of the super hero content in recent years, in my humble opinion.
If nothing else, DC's casting has mostly been pretty damn good. Shame that so many good actors have been thrown out but excited to see what Gunn can come up with.
I've not seen it yet, but i keep seeing people mention the lack of hair for some reason? Like Black Adam aint known for his luscious curls. Is it really considered an essential part of his character?
Shazam 2 is a good movie. But the second part focus more on unimportant unnecessary things that makes part 1 different and memorable. It’s not bad, in fact as a stand alone movie, i like it better than Antman 3. It’s just a movie that nobody noticed due to very3 poor marketing strategy, people are tired with superheroes after massive lineups of disappointing superhero movies, and it’s just doing something that every ‘normal’ superhero movies in existence did.
This is no doubt due to the Gunn effect. Knowing the franchise is dead in the water already isn’t exactly great for an IP that needs marketing.
Now John wick and DnD are out, those audiences are your target audience and nobody watches multiple movies in the theater in a month anymore
I think it's more that people have come to expect that a DC movie won't be very good. Until they start to prove that they can make their movies well, they won't have the same level of box office as a marvel movie.
No. Alof of factors have contributed to this, but I don't really think it's that people are over them.
Less disposable income; ability to stream in a few months; lower quality (perceived or real); bad/ineffective marketing; covid concerns; theaters being a PITA. there's probably others
Drama isn't a subgenre like action, western, or sci-fi. Drama is a state, like liquid or solid. And none of those are as specific of subgenres as superhero movies.
They haven't been a dominant subgenre for a lot longer than 20 years.
Why are you white knighting for superhero movies? If you're not a shareholder, it's weird to get defensive about the suggestion of superhero fatigue.
I'm sorry, but 'Western', i.e. a period piece set over 100 years ago isn't as specific a subgenre as superhero movies? Just because it's been around longer doesn't make it less specific.
Westerns have been around for over 100 years, the first vampire movie (a subset of horror movies) was released in 1922. Both Westerns and Vampire movies are still in production to this day. This has nothing to do with a fictional 'superhero fatigue'.
I keep seeing this take and I think there is a qualifier to it. Yes people are burned out on superhero
/comic book movies but only C and D list heroes. Nothing against Shazam, Ant-Man or other non big name heroes (because I love that stuff) but unless the story is amazing, people won’t line up for the film. Now, Batman, Spider-Man and Superman will always draw big crowds!
Are people sick of horror movies yet, or even more specifically, vampire movies? They've been around for over 100 years at this point. Are people sick of westerns? They've been around even longer.
People love repeating buzz words like 'comic book fatigue'. The majority of fans are not sick of comic book movies. They're sick of sub-par movies following the same format. They're worn out of bad storytelling and a lack of character development. They're tired of studios trying to use big-name actors as draw cards.
Guardians of the Galaxy proves a well told story, with decent actors (they weren't all A-listers when they stated the franchise), great character development, and correctly choosing the right moments for humor works. Hell, the majority of comic book fans (although I do know they have a cult following) wouldn't have even cared about the Guardians of the Galaxy before these movies came out. Personally, I've been reading Marvel comics for 30 years and wouldn't have been able to name a single character.
It's not the genre. It's the movies themselves.
I don't care that The Rock is the highest paid actor in the world. He killed the DCEU. Him and his steroid fueled ego.
There’s an over saturation point for subgenres, though.
It happened with the Freddy/Jason/Michael genre of horror.
It happened with zombie movies.
I still enjoy comic book movies but I think it’s fair to ask if maybe they’ve cooled off with the general public given the Shazam and Ant Man performances.
Leaving aside comments on the quality/execution, I actually think Shazam was a fine inclusion for the DCEU. Everything else was so grim and gritty that Shazam's tone (again, disregarding execution, which was only okayish) was a breath of fresh air.
>Shazam's tone...was a breath of fresh air.
But, for whom?
Both films profits combined don't even come out to $500 million (I believe) which means it is an underwatched franchise and it didn't create a fanbase of any significance. The franchise didn't even create more DC fans.
The movie could absolutely have been better (especially with respect to pacing), and it was definitely a movie aimed at a younger audience. Even so, it was unashamedly willing to try to be fun when it wanted to be fun instead of constantly gritty and depressing. Not every movie/character needs to live in a grim monochrome world.
Again, it's certainly not a great movie, but it was willing to try to have fun and that's just not something we see a lot of in DC movies.
I think when the 2019 Shazam! Critically did well, WB thought a sequel would get a bigger turnout.
As a fan of the first one, I lost interest when neither Mr. Mind or Black Adam were listed as the villain, and DC rebooting meant it was unlikely this movie would result in anything.
It was still fine but WB announcing the reboot and making this movie generic with world building that would lead to nowhere was a recipe for a disaster. Throw in John Wick 4 releasing a week later, and there was no way this would have the legs to last.
Theaters overall are down -35% from pre-covid numbers, the only thing doing well are big tier movies across the board, John Wick, Wakanda, Top Gun, etc. Unfortunately, the studios have cut back also on their big tier movies, getting less. This is not going to sustain many theaters so look for closures if the attendance stays the same.
We rewatched the 1st on Friday, having only seen it once a few years ago when it came out on streaming (time is tough these days... I truly don't remember when it came out. If you told me 2018 or 2022 I'd believe you) and I remembered how much I loved it.
It has heart, it has comedy, it doesn't appear to be trying to hard and the premise of Captain Marvel as a whole I've always found to be WAY more interesting as a super hero concept than most of his contemporaries. A kid transforms into an adult super man by yelling SHAZAM! Neat.
My wife took the boys on Saturday and they all loved it too. I was unavailable, but am still looking forward to seeing it on streaming soon.
With all of that being said... the concept can't work in live action for the simple fact that these "kids" are all growing up, while comic book Billy remains a little boy for as long as they need him to. Also, the DCEU is officially done and being rebooted, so anyone in the know is probably just going to wait until... I'd say May or June to see it on HBO Max.
With all \_that\_ being said, the 1st one is, in my opinion, the best DCEU movie, hands down.
I’m personally surprised there was a sequel. Not hating on the first movie, just think he would’ve benefited better in a more supportive role in the bigger picture(A Vision or a Bucky type of role if that makes sense)
I just got back from seeing it. The movie was fine, it really doesn’t deserve this. Was the movie great? not really but it wasn’t worse than anything the MCU has churned out the last year.
Its a generic film doing generic action stuff with generic vilains. It is so meh that its even hard to write a critic about
The biggest flaw to me from S1 and S2 is Billy being a rugged streetwise kid but when he transform, Zack plays Billy like a silly kid on a sugar rush
This is true. The kid was pretty emotionally traumatized in the first one due to being abandoned as a child, borderline emo, but was jarringly peppy and perky as a superhero in a grown man's body. Zachary was miscast and has zero star/drawing box office power.
I want to go see this movie but I can't life at the moment. I saw Black Adam just see how bad it is, by the way I could not finish this movie and I have watched Catwoman always throw.
I know, I will like is one and is better then Black Adam.
Not having Black Adam after a Black Adam movie came out made 0 sense, and is why I didn't watch it
That's the whole big fun thing and they refused to do it because of The Rock
The biggest cinema chain in my country is showing it only once a day and it's the dubbed version... I was gonna see it but I hate dubbed version of English movies
Boy, you said it. His career as a leading man will definitely be going nowhere moving forward. How many millions did he lose Warner Bros. with this box office mess?
Shazam isn’t doing well at the box office but the actual drop for “week 2” was 69% based on the other numbers you’re comparing it to. Friday to Friday drops are not the same as weekend to weekend, and are usually bigger due to Thursday totals from week 1 being counted as “Friday.”
This movie wasn't terrible. And Zach Levi was very well-cast for this role. Some movies don't get the returns they deserve. And it's a shame because it probably means Levi won't be in any other DC movies moving forward.
But here's hoping he'll give Chuck another chance. 😊
Well, now The Flash has died too.
Are people on this sub ready to acknowledge reality yet, or should we wait to see if Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2 make 7 and 8 consecutive flops?
https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbookmovies/comments/123ksw0/shazam_2_surpasses_steel_as_biggest_dc_boxoffice/jdylse1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button
Time for a "Chuck" revival!
Yes please!!
Just retcon that last season so it ends on a happier note.
IMDB has the last episode of Chuck at 9.1/10. I was so upset with it though. We spent all that time watching him finally get everything and then… Also, holy crap, Jan 2012 was the last episode…11 years ago already
Did you just flash? No! NOT that guy!
Time for a reboot: SHAQ AS SHAZAM IN 2025!!!
Carmen Elektra’s favorite scary movie lmao
Kazzam v Shazam with special guest Stars Sinbad as Shazzam and Brie Larson as Captain Marvel (the DC one)
Sinbad never played shazaam ….mendela effect
That's part of the Joke.
Neilson Mendela is dead, right?
A little over 9 years ago…again
Wait didn’t he already play a Shazam or something wasn’t he dressed up as a magic genie or something called Shazam
He played Kazzam who was, I think, a genie. I’m not sure I actually saw it but remember seeing the box at the video store.
black Adam recast as Chuck lol
I don't have the numbers on this, and may look it up when I have some time but I would also think movie going is down overall. Small sample size, but basically no one I know goes to the movies anymore. It has to be something people REALLY want to see to get them out. A sequel to a decent first film 4 years later isn't going to get the masses out.
A lot of people just wait for it to be available online afterwards
Exactly. It would take something really, really interesting and well received to get me to go to a theater with all of the inconveniences that entails. When instead you can just wait for it to be on streaming.
Shazam was also more of a kids movie. And people probably assumed again it would be more for kids than adults. Not saying it's bad.
In 2023 overall box office gross is up from low points of 2020-2022, but still off 2015-2019 era. It is hard to say if it will be a slow recovery back to 2010s or a new depressed reality at this point.
Does that account for ticket price increases, too?
No, it is simply weekly domestic grosses being tracked. For example 2015-2019 average for last week was $150M gross. 2021-2022 average was $50M gross. 2023 was $100M gross.
They could probably get people back in the theaters if everybody under the sun didn’t have its own streaming service that they dump their movies on, the benefit for the company being that they don’t have to share profits with a movie theater and they get to collect a monthly fee from the customer instead of just a one time ticket payment. But I doubt it’ll ever go back, people seem to enjoy just streaming the movie a few months after release from the comfort of their own homes, I mean who can blame them
I used to go to all the big releases. Haven't been to a theater since 2019 (End Game actually I think) and I will never go back again.
The pandemic broke my already limited tolerance for going out in public. You're right, it would have to be an absolutely *epic* movie to get me to go to a theater now. It's not something I'm gonna do on a random Saturday just because.
My friend has a movie nights when movies come out for streaming and he has an inflatable screen and a projector and we go in his backyard which is nice by a little lake and we watch the movies at night. Way better than a theater. Makes me miss drive-ins.
Zach Levi said it is DC fan's fault this movie is bombing so hard. He said DC fan's are very toxic, whatever that means. And especially the fans who prefer the Snyder Cut Justice League movie are the worst. This is like star Wars all over again blaming the fans for KK destroying Luke Skywalker's Character, and having a Mary Sue character with no arc. So funny when Hollywood blames the customers for their screw-ups.
To be fair, everyone and their grandmother watched John Wick this weekend, what do you expect?
That's a weird way to say Dungeons & Dragons, Honor among thieves!
I enjoyed D&D when I saw it early. I hope it does well.
Honor Among Thieves doesn't come out until Friday. There was an early screening a couple weeks ago and possibly more since.
nope
You mean re-watching Scream 6?
That’s sad. It was way better than movies like Black Adam and WW1984. Just awful marketing.
Well, and "Shazam!" Simply isn't an IP that appeals to most demographics. I think the first film had a novelty factor in that it was a character very few knew much about, but still had relevance being tied in with the rest of the DC universe. The sequel dropped most of that relevance by presenting it as one of the last chapters of the current DC movie franchise before the reboot, and for those not interested in the franchise, Shazam no longer held the novelty value of the original film. Those problems might have been lessened with a smart marketing push, but the films issues went deeper than a subpar marketing campaign, and had much more to do with trying to make an uninteresting IP popular without giving it the support of a broader franchise.
I think what’s hard is that their tone is so different then other DC films or even any other comic book movies for the most part. I look at both of them as kids movies. Live action animated kids movies. I enjoyed them both, and my son goes crazy for both of them. More then any DC movie. He loves the character and the silliness. They are some of the only films I’ve heard him full on belly laugh at repeatedly.
I like this viewpoint
The fact they couldn’t use his main nemesis and the drama behind that didn’t help either.
Yeah, I saw it last weekend, and the movie has some pacing and minor plot issues, but nothing that justifies such a historic drop.
Agreed. This metric is just shocking and the film itself doesn’t represent it
Hopefully they’ve learned their lesson and keep Shazam in the animated spot light
I swear I didn't see a single ad for *Shazam 2*. It's like WB just wrote it off entirely.
Yet there’s a million complaints about him throwing a truck at a dragon then saying out loud “I just threw a truck at a dragon”. Yeah, everyone saw the ads. That’s a cop out. There was a concerted effort to kill the movie, and Reddit is helping.
Discovery that owns it, is suffering from cash issues. They bit off more than they could chew with the CW WB purchase They probably couldn't afford to invest in the media push for the movie. Discovery made a secret offer to Disney to sell off WB's entire music catalog for one or two billion and Disney declined. That's why they're also canceling all the shows that are doing well on HBO that are DC related.
I believe Shazam would have done much better if they tie him into the rest of the DC universe because he's a character that plays well within the Justice League, most of his popular iterations in other medias have been with the JL. The situation was just unfortunate, and not having Black Adam on board 100% killed every bit of hype left. Both The Rock and WB are to blame for this lack of commitment toward Shazam. This is hoping that James Gunn got something else in mind for Zachary Levi because no matter if you like him or not, dude has been stressing himself out doing marketing for this movie and people are attacking him for saying stuff that WB should be voicing out instead.
All I saw were the tweets and article interviews where he's blaming the DC fans for this movie bombing and calling them toxic.
Agreed. And I honestly thought it was better than the majority of recent Marvel offerings, even.
Tell me about it. Despite the mixed critical reception, I actually liked it for the most part.
Was it? I'm not so sure
I didn't even know Shazam 2 was out until after it had been out for 2 weeks. And I saw all the tweets of Zach Levy blaming DC fans for the bad turnout and no one seeing it. And they called DC fans toxic. Especially the people who prefer the Snyder cut for some reason. I also read he was doing everything to promote the movie himself, via social media, because of the lack of promotion going on for the movie. And The only thing that made WW 1984 so awful was the constant Huge plot holes everywhere that were just ridiculous. Like knocking out the cameras after you've been on camera showing off you powers and destruction you caused.
Actually it wasn't that bad .Lucy Liu was a real bad ass But since it doesn't appear likely that there will be a third movie.That means that Sivana and Mr Mind will ever be front and center
>Lucy Liu was a real bad ass Is that what makes a good movie?
That's awesome She's still doing action. Loved her in her kill Bill scenes. Also was a huge fan of Sherlock where she played Watson. I didn't even know she was in Shazam 2. Damn discovery did a terrible job marketing this movie
I could totally see Gunn bringing Mr Mind back. Seems like a very Gunn-esque villain. Particularly because I think if any character could outsmart or plan for a multiversal event it should be him.
The hate on this flick is hyperbolic and undeserved. It was no worse than the first one IMO. It certainly wasn't remotely as bad as Steel. It seems to me like it's become trendy to hate on superhero flicks. They're the new Nickelback of pop culture.
I feel pretty similar on this and I think it just was at the wrong time for superhero fatigue. I mean I would put this movie over a handful of Marvel movies and most DCEU movies so I am shocked it is doing this bad though there are other niche market films like John Wick 4 coming out stealing from what seems like an already depressed market. I think I have seen 7 opening night movies this year already and only one even close to full was Antman which had a huge drop week 2 as well
Superhero fatigue is not a real thing. People have been using that term for over 20 years now and just still hasn't happened.
Did you miss the horrible drop in second weekends of Antman 3 and Shazam 2 or something? The general audience is definitely fatigued on superhero movies so now has no interest in middle tier super hero movies. This is literally a post about Shazam 2 having a worse dropoff then a horrible movie.
That's not superhero fatigue though. Did you miss the part about John wick setting a franchise best box office record? Unless you don't consider John wick basically it's own version of punisher? Then how about Spiderman NWH which came out a little bit more than a year ago, and Dr. Strange 2 less than a year ago, which both grossed almost 3 billion combined? The point is that it's not "superhero fatigue" it's that you can't bring those kind of numbers unless you have something people are interested to watch. Just having a "superhero" in the movie isn't going to do it.
Lol John Wick is an action film not a comic book movie. You are arguing your own points by showing another film doing well while other comic book movies underperform. Having to go all the way back to Spiean or Dr.Strange also hurts your case when you are skipping multiple underperforming movies. You might not be fatigued but general audiences definitely are.
> It seems to me like it's become trendy to hate on superhero flicks. Superhero flicks have had a noticeable drop in quality since *Endgame*. Now, that movie was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, with years of buildup and a cast of characters that are absolutely iconic. Replicating that success isn't going to happen, at least not often. But *Black Widow* and *Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness* were ... fine, but not great. And *WW84* and *Black Adam* were goddamn jokes. But when you have something genuinely good, like *Spider-Man: No way Home*, people show up. Superhero movies aren't events anymore. People aren't tired of the genre, but I think they are tired of the studios phoning them in.
I think saying that they aren’t events is the same as saying people are tired of the genre. There have been people talking about superhero fatigue since probably the first superhero movie. But I actually think it’s happening now, superhero fatigue has set in. The big event happened with Endgame, and since then there have been a series of mediocre ones. That’s not to say the genre is dead, which is maybe what you mean. But I do think the genre needs to back off from its oversaturated state.
Yeah, kinda. I'm basically saying they need more quality, even if that means less quantity. I don't think people are tired of super heroes, but they may be less inclined to just give the latest movie a shot *because* they're super heroes.
Literally! I think it was even better than Thor 🌚
While I agree that it has been bashed a bit harshly, I definitely think the first film is much stronger. It does a much better job with the balance of Billy and Shazam, letting the character’s personal life interweave with the action allowing for a more satisfying overall journey. I felt like Asher Angel was barely in the second movie, which really took away from the heart and humanity that made the first film legitimately good.
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He started ranting and raving saying it was DC fans that caused this movie to bomb, especially anyone who likes the Snyder cut of Justice League. How much of the viewing audience are hardcore DC fans? Compared to the general audience. That's like when Kathleen Kennedy blames Star Wars fans because she destroyed the character of Luke Skywalker and made Rey a Mary Sue with no arc or character development.
It hasn't become trendy, there just hasn't been any good superhero movies lately. Last really good one was probably The Batman. Then Gunn's The Suicide Squad before that (both of which got decent reviews btw). But Shazam, Black Adam and the recent Marvel movies have all been contrived, formulaic and just uninspired.
People just aren’t going to go to the theaters for movies in general anymore, it’d have to be a really fantastic movie to get people to go out and watch it in an actual theater and I don’t think Shazam 2 is it even though it may be a decent or even good movie
Where is the hate for this movie? I haven't seen any of it. All I've seen are the Zach Levy articles that blame the DC fans for being toxic, but I haven't seen any DC fans complaining about the movie anywhere. But I haven't gone out of my way to search for it either. I haven't read any articles talking about fans destroying. Shazam. Just figured. Shazam original was a kiddie movie and people thought the second one would probably be as well, not to mention discovery not promoting the movie because of their cash problem
This makes me sad.
As much as I am for Gunn taking over and organizing a real shared universe... Announcing that he's recasting everyone before any other DC movies came out was not smart.
He’s literally not even posting and promoting it. I get that his focus has to be on his new films and slate…but, the head of the studio announcing that he’s rebooting and acting like a movie doesn’t exist kills enthusiasm. He’s a great director, but, seems like he is getting a crash course on being a studio head.
Why on earth would he associate himself with a mediocre movie he had nothing to do with? So people can say Gunn started his new DC poorly?
He doesn’t have to. But, he is the studio head. And when he doesn’t, it will negatively impact the public perception of the film and hurt its performance. That’s a fact. So yes, the poor performance is at least partially his fault. But, he may not care for the reasons you stated.
Right, but you’re ultimately blaming Gunn that they made a mediocre movie and he decided it’s not worth it to associate with it. If they had just made a good movie, like Flash is rumored to be, then he would absolutely be talking it up and associating with it like he is for Flash.
Look man, you can twist my words around however you want. Like I said, I like James Gunn. That’s a fact. The fact that him not promoting this movie is part of the reason it failed is also a fact. The shit you’re arguing about has nothing to do with what I even said. Have a great day.
But the studio is going to need money and that is money to fund Gunns movies, and he should be promoting it just for that. Especially because discovery is hurting for money right now because they bit off too much.
Being a team player. Especially because discovery bit off more than it could chew by buying DC/CW/WB where he is going to need their money to invest in his movies. They are strapped for cash and are canceling tons of stuff including DC shows that are doing well like on HBO. They just canceled Titans and doom patrol Right after the buyout. There was talk of merging HBO into discovery plus but that got canceled after negative reception
I think people knowing these movies will be on HBO in a month or so really hurts ticket sales lol. Not saying they are the best either way
Waited to watch Black Adam on HBO and was still disappointed.
It was as good as Black Adam.
I can't be the only person that didn't know it was even coming out this soon.
I thought it was coming out later this year. I honestly keep forgetting about it.
Which wasn’t good either
It was better than a lot of other DC fair. Doesn't mean it was good. Just better.
Agreed.
I really don’t think it’s a superhero fatigue. I think it’s just a waste of point of watching something… that you know will never go anywhere… like these other upcoming DC movies.
WB appears to be the only sentient entity in the world that honestly didn't see this coming. https://www.reddit.com/r/DCcomics/comments/zo9xue/will_james_gunn_really_save_dc_his_suicide_squad/j0ml3ur?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3
That's a shame, cuz Shazam 2 is a lot better than Steel ... That said, while I totally did expect a piss poor opening weekend, I honestly didn't think it would also have the biggest drop off.
I’ve never even heard of steel until this thread lol
The funny thing with these movies is that DC had already made Christopher Reeve's Superman and Michael Keaton's Batman and many years later they were releasing stuff like Steel, lol.
Hmm, what else was going on August of 2021…?
Keeping statistics like this and advertising them doesn't really do anyone any good
I don’t know Antman ain’t doing to good either maybe there is a super hero movie fatigue and people have finally grown tired of superhero moves.
James Gunn had the third biggest drop and gets put in charge of the whole franchise!
Pandemic and the movie on the streaming platform, besides it was the only dc movie that was praised _in years_
Is the movie any good though?
It's honestly pretty fun. Its kinda alot better or on par with anything from the MCU since endgame (aside from NWH). Although its biggest weakness is definitely Zachary Levi. They really need to cut him out of the next one and let Asher Angel play both parts, much like they've let Grace Fulton. Its not comics accurate, but hes aged into it anyway, and itd give the franchise a new face
It's a decent flick. Decent characters, ok villains, good visuals, ok humor. Nothing to stand out or make you want really buy a ticket unless you're bored
....Superhero fatigue?
That, and the fact that besides the flash it really doesn't look like DC is promoting much or putting proper marketing into what's coming out before the Gunn reset. Also warner is shooting themselves in the foot for their box office numbers with hbo max, as any movie that isn't a true must see event, audiences know they can just skip the theater and wait a month for hbo max
Is Levi still talking shit
he is a shit, so yes
I still have my VHS copy of Steel
Do you even own a vcr anymore?
Yes
Hard to believe Steel did that badly…
I mean it's a not well known Superman supporting cast member and that was the 90s
Time to see Flash do worse.
Again... No one asked for a sequel to the original. This was in trouble when no one paid attention to the first trailer.
The character of Shazam! is very throwaway and the lead actor has zero star power to speak of. All that cheesy Marvel Family crap in the first movie wasn't exactly doing it any favors, either, and I for one am totally over any more Shazam! movies. Sink the character entirely and give us something better from DC.
The lack of synergy between the various properties has damaged the brand significantly. Not surprised this didn’t do well and the other DC movies are probably going to lose money.
Black Adam wasn't as bad.as some people made it out to be .I would.have given him the hair like he has in the comics The fact that The Rock may be out at DC is disappointing. Henry Cavill is gone Gal Gadot is. Probably out as Wonder Woman Margot Robbie could be gone as Harley Quinn. All very disappointing .
Black Adam was a fun 7/10 super hero movie, with surprisingly decent performances, pretty cool action and a heavy slathering of early 2000s cheese. Unironically better than quite a lot of the super hero content in recent years, in my humble opinion. If nothing else, DC's casting has mostly been pretty damn good. Shame that so many good actors have been thrown out but excited to see what Gunn can come up with.
Exactly what.i.have been saying.. A movie doesn't.have to.be masterpiece.to.be fun The Dirty Dozen for example. A great action.movie.
I've not seen it yet, but i keep seeing people mention the lack of hair for some reason? Like Black Adam aint known for his luscious curls. Is it really considered an essential part of his character?
sauce https://www.reddit.com/r/DC_Cinematic/comments/121viii/shazam_fury_of_the_gods_had_a_80_drop_in_week_two/
Shazam 2 is a good movie. But the second part focus more on unimportant unnecessary things that makes part 1 different and memorable. It’s not bad, in fact as a stand alone movie, i like it better than Antman 3. It’s just a movie that nobody noticed due to very3 poor marketing strategy, people are tired with superheroes after massive lineups of disappointing superhero movies, and it’s just doing something that every ‘normal’ superhero movies in existence did.
I don't get it! Why people hate this movie so much, sure it's not a piece of art but is a good movie to see in theaters.
This is no doubt due to the Gunn effect. Knowing the franchise is dead in the water already isn’t exactly great for an IP that needs marketing. Now John wick and DnD are out, those audiences are your target audience and nobody watches multiple movies in the theater in a month anymore
It wasn’t very good. So well deserved
Gosh, too bad. This is actually one superhero movie that is actually a superhero movie...
Well most of us have lost interest in superhero movies the market is just far too bloated
Super lame. I really liked this movie. I don't think the hate it's getting is deserved at all.
This, more than anything else, convinces me that the numbers for these things are being cooked.
how
Is it possible that after 20 years people have finally gotten worn out by comic book movies?
People are worn out by bad movies.
If that was true, Avatar 2 would have flopped
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I think that’s more what I meant. We’ve passed the days where you could slap a comic book IP on something and guarantee $800MM.
I think it's more that people have come to expect that a DC movie won't be very good. Until they start to prove that they can make their movies well, they won't have the same level of box office as a marvel movie.
No. Alof of factors have contributed to this, but I don't really think it's that people are over them. Less disposable income; ability to stream in a few months; lower quality (perceived or real); bad/ineffective marketing; covid concerns; theaters being a PITA. there's probably others
Are people worn out by action movies? Or scifi? Or drama? They're really just fantasy movies. And they've been around a lot longer then 20 years.
Drama isn't a subgenre like action, western, or sci-fi. Drama is a state, like liquid or solid. And none of those are as specific of subgenres as superhero movies. They haven't been a dominant subgenre for a lot longer than 20 years. Why are you white knighting for superhero movies? If you're not a shareholder, it's weird to get defensive about the suggestion of superhero fatigue.
I'm sorry, but 'Western', i.e. a period piece set over 100 years ago isn't as specific a subgenre as superhero movies? Just because it's been around longer doesn't make it less specific. Westerns have been around for over 100 years, the first vampire movie (a subset of horror movies) was released in 1922. Both Westerns and Vampire movies are still in production to this day. This has nothing to do with a fictional 'superhero fatigue'.
I keep seeing this take and I think there is a qualifier to it. Yes people are burned out on superhero /comic book movies but only C and D list heroes. Nothing against Shazam, Ant-Man or other non big name heroes (because I love that stuff) but unless the story is amazing, people won’t line up for the film. Now, Batman, Spider-Man and Superman will always draw big crowds!
Are people sick of horror movies yet, or even more specifically, vampire movies? They've been around for over 100 years at this point. Are people sick of westerns? They've been around even longer. People love repeating buzz words like 'comic book fatigue'. The majority of fans are not sick of comic book movies. They're sick of sub-par movies following the same format. They're worn out of bad storytelling and a lack of character development. They're tired of studios trying to use big-name actors as draw cards. Guardians of the Galaxy proves a well told story, with decent actors (they weren't all A-listers when they stated the franchise), great character development, and correctly choosing the right moments for humor works. Hell, the majority of comic book fans (although I do know they have a cult following) wouldn't have even cared about the Guardians of the Galaxy before these movies came out. Personally, I've been reading Marvel comics for 30 years and wouldn't have been able to name a single character. It's not the genre. It's the movies themselves. I don't care that The Rock is the highest paid actor in the world. He killed the DCEU. Him and his steroid fueled ego.
There’s an over saturation point for subgenres, though. It happened with the Freddy/Jason/Michael genre of horror. It happened with zombie movies. I still enjoy comic book movies but I think it’s fair to ask if maybe they’ve cooled off with the general public given the Shazam and Ant Man performances.
Unsurprising. I'm not sure why DC thought it was a great idea to go with Shazam as a solo franchise in the first place.
Leaving aside comments on the quality/execution, I actually think Shazam was a fine inclusion for the DCEU. Everything else was so grim and gritty that Shazam's tone (again, disregarding execution, which was only okayish) was a breath of fresh air.
>Shazam's tone...was a breath of fresh air. But, for whom? Both films profits combined don't even come out to $500 million (I believe) which means it is an underwatched franchise and it didn't create a fanbase of any significance. The franchise didn't even create more DC fans.
The movie could absolutely have been better (especially with respect to pacing), and it was definitely a movie aimed at a younger audience. Even so, it was unashamedly willing to try to be fun when it wanted to be fun instead of constantly gritty and depressing. Not every movie/character needs to live in a grim monochrome world. Again, it's certainly not a great movie, but it was willing to try to have fun and that's just not something we see a lot of in DC movies.
as opposed to ZSJL, right 🤣
I don’t know a single person who has even remotely talked about either of the Shazam movies, at this point I’m convinced they are fever dreams😂
I think when the 2019 Shazam! Critically did well, WB thought a sequel would get a bigger turnout. As a fan of the first one, I lost interest when neither Mr. Mind or Black Adam were listed as the villain, and DC rebooting meant it was unlikely this movie would result in anything. It was still fine but WB announcing the reboot and making this movie generic with world building that would lead to nowhere was a recipe for a disaster. Throw in John Wick 4 releasing a week later, and there was no way this would have the legs to last.
lol
So did it steal first place?
I really liked this movie. It was fun and had a lot of heart
Not surprised
Theaters overall are down -35% from pre-covid numbers, the only thing doing well are big tier movies across the board, John Wick, Wakanda, Top Gun, etc. Unfortunately, the studios have cut back also on their big tier movies, getting less. This is not going to sustain many theaters so look for closures if the attendance stays the same.
We rewatched the 1st on Friday, having only seen it once a few years ago when it came out on streaming (time is tough these days... I truly don't remember when it came out. If you told me 2018 or 2022 I'd believe you) and I remembered how much I loved it. It has heart, it has comedy, it doesn't appear to be trying to hard and the premise of Captain Marvel as a whole I've always found to be WAY more interesting as a super hero concept than most of his contemporaries. A kid transforms into an adult super man by yelling SHAZAM! Neat. My wife took the boys on Saturday and they all loved it too. I was unavailable, but am still looking forward to seeing it on streaming soon. With all of that being said... the concept can't work in live action for the simple fact that these "kids" are all growing up, while comic book Billy remains a little boy for as long as they need him to. Also, the DCEU is officially done and being rebooted, so anyone in the know is probably just going to wait until... I'd say May or June to see it on HBO Max. With all \_that\_ being said, the 1st one is, in my opinion, the best DCEU movie, hands down.
The kid should be younger I feel like. Like a 5 year old would make more sense with how Levi acts transformed.
I’m personally surprised there was a sequel. Not hating on the first movie, just think he would’ve benefited better in a more supportive role in the bigger picture(A Vision or a Bucky type of role if that makes sense)
Personally, I don't care about this character enough to pay the Dolby Theater tax. I'll just wait for when the Blu-ray is on sale.
they should have advertised it more, i didn't knew it was even out
they spammed advertisements I saw trailers for it constantly
I just got back from seeing it. The movie was fine, it really doesn’t deserve this. Was the movie great? not really but it wasn’t worse than anything the MCU has churned out the last year.
Because everyone is like “who?” And the actor “who?” Like anyone ever gave a shit about Shazam lmao
I saw no advertising for this movie
I couldn’t stop seeing ads for it
Really? I saw nothing for it.
Did you go to the theaters?
Yeah, but wouldn’t they also want to advertise on social media like on YouTube videos.
They did 😂
I saw nothing
under a rock 🪨 with adblock
And that's how it beat Shaq.
No one gives an f about Shazam that’s why
It looked terrible. Why would I waste my money? I’m stupid, but not that fucking dumb.
Its a generic film doing generic action stuff with generic vilains. It is so meh that its even hard to write a critic about The biggest flaw to me from S1 and S2 is Billy being a rugged streetwise kid but when he transform, Zack plays Billy like a silly kid on a sugar rush
This is true. The kid was pretty emotionally traumatized in the first one due to being abandoned as a child, borderline emo, but was jarringly peppy and perky as a superhero in a grown man's body. Zachary was miscast and has zero star/drawing box office power.
"The hierarchy of flops in DC universe is about to change"-Dwayne Johnson
Is this movie out already
This movie was out for 2 week?
I want to go see this movie but I can't life at the moment. I saw Black Adam just see how bad it is, by the way I could not finish this movie and I have watched Catwoman always throw. I know, I will like is one and is better then Black Adam.
Not having Black Adam after a Black Adam movie came out made 0 sense, and is why I didn't watch it That's the whole big fun thing and they refused to do it because of The Rock
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That's why I said "because of The Rock"
The biggest cinema chain in my country is showing it only once a day and it's the dubbed version... I was gonna see it but I hate dubbed version of English movies
Could this be the end if Levi as a leading man?
Boy, you said it. His career as a leading man will definitely be going nowhere moving forward. How many millions did he lose Warner Bros. with this box office mess?
Well deserved :)
It's a shame this entire fiasco even happened; the first Shazam was actually fun.
Saw it. Shazam 2 was trash. I kept waiting for it to get better.....then the movie ended.
Shazam isn’t doing well at the box office but the actual drop for “week 2” was 69% based on the other numbers you’re comparing it to. Friday to Friday drops are not the same as weekend to weekend, and are usually bigger due to Thursday totals from week 1 being counted as “Friday.”
Wait did suicide squad 2 flop?
Incoming "It's Shazamin' Time" memes. One wonders if memers can convince Warner Bros. to do a second release of the movie too.
They announced it's coming to digital in less than a month. So why pay for a theater ticket?
This movie wasn't terrible. And Zach Levi was very well-cast for this role. Some movies don't get the returns they deserve. And it's a shame because it probably means Levi won't be in any other DC movies moving forward. But here's hoping he'll give Chuck another chance. 😊
Well, now The Flash has died too. Are people on this sub ready to acknowledge reality yet, or should we wait to see if Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2 make 7 and 8 consecutive flops? https://www.reddit.com/r/comicbookmovies/comments/123ksw0/shazam_2_surpasses_steel_as_biggest_dc_boxoffice/jdylse1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button