{"id":208917,"date":"2019-04-08T03:19:34","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T07:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=208917"},"modified":"2019-04-08T03:19:34","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T07:19:34","slug":"shazam-debuts-with-53-5m-handing-dc-comics-another-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/04\/08\/shazam-debuts-with-53-5m-handing-dc-comics-another-win\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Shazam!’ debuts with $53.5M, handing DC Comics another win"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cShazam!\u201d came out well ahead of the weekend’s other top draw, \u201cPet Sematary.\u201d Paramount Pictures’ remake of the original 1989 Stephen King adaptation opened in a distant second with $25 million. (File Photo<\/a>: @zacharylevi\/Instagram<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Seven films in, the DC Extended Universe is finally flying with some wind behind its back. The well-reviewed, relatively modestly budgeted \u201cShazam!\u201d debuted with $53.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing DC its latest critical and box-office success.<\/p>\n

Though one of the oldest characters in DC’s superhero stable, \u201cShazam!\u201d doesn’t boast the name-recognition of Batman or Superman. But by scaling back to a $100 million budget and going for the lighter, comic tone, \u201cShazam!\u201d steadily built up its word of mouth with stellar reviews. Warner Bros. also showed the film nationwide two weeks before opening, where it made $3 million in advance screenings.<\/p>\n

\u201cShazam!\u201d came out well ahead of the weekend’s other top draw, \u201cPet Sematary.\u201d Paramount Pictures’ remake of the original 1989 Stephen King adaptation opened in a distant second with $25 million. It’s a solid start for \u201cPet Sematary,\u201d though far from the haul that the last big-screen adaptation of King’s conjured up: \u201cIt\u201d opened with $123.4 million in 2017.<\/p>\n

Last week’s top film, \u201cDumbo,\u201d slid steeply in its second week. Landing in third, the Disney live-action remake dropped 60% with $18.2 million.<\/p>\n

Pitched as \u201c’Big’ meets Superman,\u201d’ \u201cShazam!\u201d stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage foster kid who transforms into an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levi).<\/p>\n

Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief at Warner Bros., said the studio originally forecast a $40 million opening. \u201cThat was the right number for us,\u201d Goldstein said. \u201cThat’s what we needed to make money on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But expectations grew based on reviews (91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience reaction (an \u201cA\u201d Cinemascore). The PG-13-rated film attracted an especially young crowd; 45% were under 25.<\/p>\n

The result further validated DC’s pivot following the disappointments of Zack Snyder’s \u201cBatman v Superman\u201d and David Ayer’s \u201cSuicide Squad.\u201d Warner Bros. has since steered its comic book adaptions in a different direction, leaning more on stand-alone entries less predicated on the overall \u201cuniverse\u201d and more fluctuating in tone. Following \u201cWonder Woman\u201d and \u201cAquaman,\u201d \u201cShazam!\u201d makes it three in a row for DC superhero standalones.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the week, Warner Bros. also teased the DC release \u201cJoker,\u201d with Joaquin Phoenix, at CinemaCon. An even smaller-budgeted origin story with a similarly unique, albeit much darker, tone; it was one of the most talked-about movies at the Las Vegas event.<\/p>\n

\u201c’Wonder Woman’ was really the start of changing the ship,\u201d Goldstein said. \u201cWhen you look at each of these properties, they’re all very different. Their approach is different. Their tone is different. But here’s the commonality: All good movies, all well done. I think that’s what you’ll see out of DC is very specific approaches for that property.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overseas, \u201cShazam!\u201d grossed $102 million in 79 markets, including $30.9 million in China.<\/p>\n

\u201cDC has really found its groove,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. \u201cThey’re really breaking out each character. Shazam and the Joker could not be two more different characters within the DC Universe. But I think that diversity of content is going to serve them well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dergarabedian noted the two most dominant genres in movies right now \u2014 superheroes and horror \u2014 swamped theatres over the weekend, taking up four of the top five spots at the box office. The stiff competition in similar-styled holdovers could have slightly depressed results for both \u201cShazam!\u201d and \u201cPet Sematary.\u201d But right now, there’s scant room on the calendar between major comic book films and horror releases.<\/p>\n

In fourth was Jordan Peele’s horror thriller \u201cUs,\u201d which added $13.8 million in its third week. Its cumulative global total stands at $216.6 million.<\/p>\n

Marvel’s Brie Larson-led \u201cCaptain Marvel,\u201d which recently crossed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales, took in $12.7 million domestically in its fifth weekend. Captain Marvel, ironically, was Shazam’s original name when the character was first crafted, as a Superman knockoff, in 1939. He was relaunched in 1973 as Shazam after decades of lawsuits and the debut of Marvel’s own Captain Marvel.<\/p>\n

The weekend’s other wide-release newcomer was STX Entertainment’s \u201cBest of Enemies,\u201d starring Taraji P. Henson as a civil rights activist and Sam Rockwell as a Ku Klux Klan leader. It opened with $4.5 million.<\/p>\n

In limited release, Claire Denis’ \u201cHigh Life,\u201d starring Robert Pattinson, opened with about $100,000 in four theatres for A24.<\/p>\n

Neon’s Aretha Franklin documentary, \u201cAmazing Grace,\u201d debuted with $96,000 in eight locations. The film, shot over two days at the New Bethel Baptist Church in the Watts section of Los Angeles in 1972, was lost for decades in part because its director, Sydney Pollack, failed to slate the images, leaving them not synced with the audio. Before her death last August, Franklin sued several times to prevent its release.<\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cShazam!\u201d $53.4 million ($102 million international).<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cPet Sematary,\u201d $25 million ($17.3 million international).<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cDumbo,\u201d $18.2 million ($39.6 million international).<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cUs,\u201d $13.8 million ($10.3 million international).<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cCaptain Marvel,\u201d $12.7 million ($14.1 million international).<\/li>\n
  6. \u201cThe Best of Enemies,\u201d $4.5 million.<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cFive Feet Apart,\u201d $3.7 million ($4.1 million international).<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cUnplanned,\u201d $3.2 million.<\/li>\n
  9. \u201cWonder Park,\u201d $2 million ($3.3 million international).<\/li>\n
  10. \u201cHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,\u201d $2 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u201cShazam!\u201d $102 million.<\/li>\n
    2. \u201cDumbo,\u201d $39.6 million.<\/li>\n
    3. \u201cP Storm,\u201d $27.5 million.<\/li>\n
    4. \u201cPet Sematary,\u201d $17.3 million.<\/li>\n
    5. \u201cCaptain Marvel,\u201d $14.1 million.<\/li>\n
    6. \u201cUs,\u201d $10.3 million.<\/li>\n
    7. \u201cAndhadhun,\u201d $7.6 million.<\/li>\n
    8. \u201cSong of Youth,\u201d $4.5 million.<\/li>\n
    9. \u201cFive Feet Apart,\u201d $4.1 million.<\/li>\n
    10. \u201cCloud in the Wind,\u201d $3.4 million.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      NEW YORK \u2014 Seven films in, the DC Extended Universe is finally flying with some wind behind its back. The …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":208918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","mauthors-jake-coyle","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208919,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208917\/revisions\/208919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}