Zachary Levi in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (New Line Cinema image)
New Line Cinema’s DC Sequel ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ Looks to Soar to Top of Box Office
March 17, 2023
Warner Bros. Discovery’s New Line Cinema avoided a minefield late last year when it pulled its planned Dec. 21 debut of DC superhero movie sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods — which was scheduled to debut just days after 20th Century Studios’ Avatar: The Way of Water, which has gone on to become the No. 3 all-time grossing box office release.
New Line is now set to release the follow up to 2019’s box office hit Shazam! today (March 17), taking on last weekend’s No. 1 Scream VI (Paramount Pictures) and the previous weekend topper, MGM Studios’ boxing drama Creed III.
While the original Shazam!, which also starred Zachary Levi, debuted with more than $53 million on the way to a $366 million global box office haul, sequel Fury of the Gods is looking to generate about half of that total, according to Box Office Pro, which cited a lack of social media buzz and pre-debut ticket sales. Warner is projecting opening North American revenue of around $35 million.
The movie sold $3.4 million in tickets in special Thursday screenings.
Regardless, the ticket sales should be enough to push Scream VI into the No. 2 spot with an additional $19 million in ticket sales ($77.1 million North American total). Creed III is expected to round out the podium with $18.2 million in revenue, upping its three-week domestic tally past $130 million.
Other returning titles include Sony Pictures’ astronaut actioner 65 ($5.6 million) and Universal Pictures’ comedy thriller Cocaine Bear ($4.2 million), which debuted on premium VOD and premium sellthrough March 14 — 17 days after the movie’s theatrical debut.