Despite its star power, Warner Bros. is estimated to lose close to $100 million on Black Adam. As the eponymous antihero, Dwayne Johnson headlined the cast of the DC Universe film, which explored his beginnings as a former slave in the mythical kingdom of Kahndaq who was bestowed with superhuman skills by the wizard Shazam, only to be imprisoned after using his talents for evil purposes. Black Adam, which chronicles his war with the Justice Society of America in the present, had mainly mixed reviews from reviewers, and although moviegoers loved the DCU picture, it doesn't seem to have benefited it in the long term.
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Variety has released a fresh study assessing Black Adam's box office performance almost two months after the picture initially entered cinemas. Despite breaking Dwayne Johnson's opening weekend record, the DCU film is expected to lose WB up to $100 million, with sources indicating the studio spent between $80-100 million on marketing, which, when combined with the film's estimated $200 million production budget, required the film to gross at least $600 million worldwide to break even. At the time of writing, Black Adam has completed its theatrical run, grossing a little over $384 million.
Given the worldwide appeal Johnson brings to his films, it may come as a surprise that Black Adam is likely to lose so much money at the box office. One of the major factors holding the picture back is its critical reception, with the film now resting at a 39 per cent acceptance rating from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the worst-reviewed DC Universe chapter since the theatrical version of Justice League in 2017. With Black Adam being a lesser-known comic book title for those unfamiliar with DC, depending only on the pull of Johnson in the eponymous role and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate didn't help things.
The second major challenge Black Adam had in its box office run was its competition and timing, since it was released just over a week before Halloween, an unusual choice for a superhero picture, and only a week after Halloween Ends, a more in-season release. Even after escaping the Halloween season, the DCU picture had to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a film that had a lot of buzz behind it due to its early accolades and the tale serving as a memorial to the late Chadwick Boseman. Though Johnson has been extremely vocal about his affection for both films, rejecting any competition between the two, the MCU picture did oust Black Adam from the top box office slot in the latter's fourth weekend.
With the film losing so much money at the box office, many will be wondering how Black Adam's financial woes would affect the character's future in the DC Universe. Johnson and producing partner Hiram Garcia have frequently stated plans for his character to continue in the franchise, specifically to pit Black Adam against Henry Cavill's Superman, but with new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav keeping a close eye on studio finances, a $100 million loss could prove problematic for Johnson's return. However, with new DC Studios executives James Gunn and Peter Safran establishing a 10-year plan for the series and moviegoers' overwhelming favourable reception to the picture, it seems that Black Adam's future is far from certain.
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