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Credit: DC/Warner Bros.Why is this happening, really?
Related: Zachary Levi Has A Wild Crossover Idea For Shazam 3
The first DCEU (DC Extended Universe) movie Shazam! was a critical and commercial success, and was generally praised for its humor and heart. Its sequel, however, is not doing too hot at the box office right now, and speculation has begun swirling as to why.
With James Gunn and Peter Safran’s induction into the DC Hall of Presidents, the DC Universe (DCU) and formerly DC Extended Universe (DCEU) of Zack Snyder Justice League (2017), Henry Cavill Superman/Clark Kent and Gal Gadot Wonder Woman/Diana Prince fame, is now set to get totally reshuffled. Before that fully happens, Warner Bros. Discovery is set to release a whole slate of pre-Gunn era DC films, including Ezra Miller vehicle The Flash on June 16, 2023, Blue Beetle set for August 18, 2023, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 25, 2023 — the most recent of which has been March 17’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) or Shazam 2 is the latest superhero film based on the DC Comics character Shazam and the sequel to the 2019 film Shazam! within Warner Bros.’ DC Universe. Directed by David F. Sandberg, with a screenplay by Henry Gayden, the movie stars Asher Angel in the lead role as teenage Billy Batson, while his titular super-hero alter-ego, Shazam, is played by Zachary Levi. Billy Batson’s family of colorful characters and kids-turned-superheroes includes Grace Caroline Currey as Mary Bromfield, Ross Butler and Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, DJ Cotrona and Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, Meagan Good and Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, and finally Djimon Hounsou as the original Wizard Shazam. The film also stars Rachel Zegler as Anthea/Anne, Helen Mirren as Hespera, and Lucy Liu as Kalypso, all daughters of Atlas, as the vengeful trio and main antagonists of the film.
Why is Shazam 2‘s disappointing box office so debated?
Related: Shazam’s Zachary Levi Calls Toxic DC Fans “Very Powerless People”
With Gunn’s upcoming Superman: Legacy more or less 100% happening, and the latest controversy regarding Cavill’s return (and subsequent ousting from) the DCU, DC fans already know that they’re in for a bumpy ride. The latest Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a pretty decent family superhero romp according to reviews — but somehow, box office numbers and ticket sales just aren’t translating. Brandon Davis of ComicBook.com’s Phase Zero podcast begins a conversation about this, lamenting that this news “stinks” because the movie is actually rather good, in his opinion. He lists several intriguing factors that could have contributed to this, prompting the internet to chime in on their own reasons why:
This stinks. The movie is good.
Could be a number of factors or a combination of them…
.
-Several great movies in March
-Money is tight for many right now
-Super hero movie fatigue
-DC’s “reset” diminishes appeal
-Anything else? Let’s hear it ⬇️
This stinks. The movie is good.
Could be a number of factors or a combination of them…
.
-Several great movies in March
-Money is tight for many right now
-Super hero movie fatigue
-DC's "reset" diminishes appeal
-Anything else? Let's hear it ⬇️ https://t.co/iRyv5rc1lx— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) March 20, 2023
Others immediately responded, like @Jacemandaspace2, who immediately brought up the “generic superhero film” feel and likely “unfunny humor” — essentially attributing it to the phenomenon of “superhero fatigue”:
Looks like a generic superhero film stuffed with unfunny humor.
— Jacemandaspaceman69 (@Jacemandaspace2) March 20, 2023
Superhero fatigue is a term used to describe a feeling of exhaustion or boredom with the large number of superhero movies and TV shows that have been released in recent years. As the popularity of entities like Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe surges, some people feel that there are simply too many similar properties, that they all follow a similar formula, making them ultimately lose their shine. Repetition and predictability could be huge factors as to why Shazam!‘s sequel is struggling at the box office currently. Another reason though? Is that audiences might be wanting to save their money for other theatrical fare, like John Wick 4 (2023), after already splurging on crowd faves like Scream IV and Creed III earlier this year:
@Embroyonicend_: For me while I’ve seen it twice already I just think there’s people who’d rather save their money and go see something like JW4 instead.
Brandon Davis: yep. people saw Scream VI and Creed III, now they’re hyped for Wick 4 and D&D (or some version of that)
yep. people saw Scream VI and Creed III, now they're hyped for Wick 4 and D&D (or some version of that)
— BD (@BrandonDavisBD) March 20, 2023
Russ Burlingame also chimes in with a solid point, remarking that Shazam does not particularly resonate much with casual audiences, especially after Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam‘s (2022) bad audience reception:
I think the overall appeal of Shazam as a character and a property is small to casual audiences. It’s been 4 years since the original and Black Adam wasn’t well-received, making this feel like it came way too late.
I think the overall appeal of Shazam as a character and a property is small to casual audiences. It's been 4 years since the original and Black Adam wasn't well-received, making this feel like it came way too late.
— Russ Burlingame (@russburlingame) March 20, 2023
Additionally, it appears that lead Zachary Levi does not endear many to the new Shazam movie, seeing as Levi has recently dealt with much controversy — from allegations of deliberately pretending to be Jewish to secure more clout in Hollywood, to being against COVID-19 vaccinations, as @yaraisreading shares:
Idk maybe cuz Zachary Levi isn’t such a great guy
Idk maybe cuz Zachary Levi isn’t such a great guy pic.twitter.com/m2MJVVWRIg
— 야라 (@yaraisreading) March 20, 2023
With the dawn of James Gunn’s new DCU, there is also a subsection of fans who do not feel like committing to a DC world in which everything will soon be rebooted, so that could also absolutely play a role.
Overall, it feels like it’s definitely a bit of a “sum of its parts” situation, with the combined effect of various theater-goers’ decisions to skip the new DC film resulting in an additive result.
Issues like superhero fatigue are not necessarily a reflection of the quality of the movies and shows themselves, but rather a reaction to the sheer volume of content being produced within this genre. Being a naturally-occurring phenomenon when a particular type of media becomes over-saturated and loses its novelty, and the expectation that superhero films nowadays have to automatically become box office hits seems like more and more of a tall ask. Perhaps we’ve simply arrived at an age where superhero movies are weirdly slipping back into more of a niche, “cult film” genre status.
Why do you think Shazam! Fury of the Gods is failing to do as well as its predecessor? Share your thoughts in the comments below!