Shazam 2 Starts Slow At The Box Office

[UPDATE] Shazam 2's first-weekend box office numbers have arrived, and they came in below expectations. The movie earned $30.5 million in the US and Canada over the weekend, which was down 43% compared to the original movie's first-weekend ($53.5 million) back in 2019.

Worldwide, the movie has now made $65.5 million, which includes $35 million from international markets. Shazam 2 was projected to make $85 million worldwide for its first weekend. All of these box office numbers come from Deadline.

"Shazam's inability to fly at the box office has largely to do with the fact that there's no want-to-see among core DC fans in regards to this sequel. It's not part of a connective tissue in the DC universe, nor was it ever, and that's a problem that DC Bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran are looking to fix," Deadline reported.

The original story is below.

The first box office numbers are in for Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and things aren't looking great for the superhero sequel. The movie pulled in $3.4 million in the US from its Thursday night previews, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This was significantly less than the $5.9 million in Thursday night previews than the original Shazam earned in 2019 before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the movie's first weekend, Fury of the Gods is expected to earn between $35 million-$40 million, but even if the film hits the higher figure, it would be below the $53.5 million that the first Shazam earned in the US over its first weekend.

Fury of the Gods is getting generally worse reviews than the first movie. The original boasted a 71 score on GameSpot sister site Metacritic, compared to a 46 for the sequel.

Fury of the Gods brings back Levi and Asher Angel, alongside a trio of big-name additions, including Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler.

Levi recently discussed how life-saving therapy helped him land the lead role in Shazam.

"When we do the real work to heal ourselves, and help other people heal themselves, that's where all the good stuff comes from. That's where that blessing landed in my life," he said.

In other news, Levi recently made headlines over his comments about COVID-19 vaccine-maker Pfizer, prompting a response from DC boss James Gunn. He is now a co-head of DC Studios, but Fury of the Gods was made before Gunn took that job.