Black Adam entered the year as one of the more anticipated Warner Bros. projects, with many audiences presumably excited to see the titular anti-hero make his official big-screen debut. However, the Dwayne Johnson superhero film has sluggishly fallen out of orbit since its October debut and looks to lose $50-$100 million after a monotonous seven-week theatrical run.
Black Adam places Johnson center stage as the newest superhero figure to enter the Warner Bros. collection of DC comic book characters. The project carried lofty expectations, propelled by Johnson and a film that promised to hold no punches when showcasing the anti-hero's vicious power. Unfortunately, the production costs for the film came in at roughly $195 million, making the creation process an expensive one, which the studio looked to recoup effortlessly during the film's box office run.
As reported by Variety, the studio spent a good amount of money to produce and help promote the superhero film worldwide. Black Adam needed to take home roughly $600 million worldwide to break even, indicating that surpassing the revenue target is the only way the film would turn a profit. Currently, the film has earned $387 million worldwide, with many experts believing the journey will fall short at $400 million. Projections have Black Adam losing roughly $50-$100 million, which is unwelcoming news for Warner Bros.
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Warner Bros., however, has reportedly disputed the numbers, highlighting that Black Adam would only need to accumulate and surpass $400 million to break even and turn a profit. The studio also believes that the film's arrival on entertainment platforms will generate even more revenue to help recoup the budget and promotional costs. Nevertheless, the box office total for the film stands as an unimpressive feat compared to other currently released projects in the genre. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is making record-breaking progress through the box office after only four weeks in theaters. The Marvel Studios project has earned $393.7 million domestically, more than Black Adam's combined total domestically and internationally.
Many factors have played into Black Adam's surprisingly powerless box office run through seven theatrical weekends, one being the film's early reception from critics. The film was not received well when it arrived in October and currently has a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the Black Adam audience score sits at 89%, the lack of collective enthusiasm may have prompted many to skip the theater and wait for the film's eventual streaming release. Black Adam is not the only film this year to struggle to earn back its budget at the unpredictable box office, but the projected loss is still noteworthy. There is a desire from some to see more of the anti-hero, but the future may be bleak if the studio determines it is financially not worth the risk.
Black Adam is currently playing in theaters and is available to stream on entertainment platforms.
Source: Variety