'Shazam 2's Opening Numbers Are Horrific - Inside the Magic

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, AKA Shazam 2, could be in a ton of trouble right out of the gate. The sequel and one of the last remaining releases for the “DCEU” has officially been released, but the box office numbers are certainly not in the best spot right now.

Related: REVIEW: ‘Shazam!: Fury of the Gods’ (2023)

Most movies don’t necessarily have to be excellent for the film to get some traction, but once a superhero movie starts to get a bad reputation, things will not get much better. Shazam 2 has released its opening Thursday numbers, which are pretty terrible. Ticket sales for Thursday’s “midnight” showing day were only $3.4 million.

These poor numbers have left the sequel dead last for the DC releases that preceded James Gunn and Peter Safran’s takeover. To put it in a bit of perspective, the first Shazam movie opened to $9.2 million. Shazam 2 has only made a third of that money.

The much-maligned Birds of Prey movie is the second worst, coming in at $4 million on the preview day. We are not saying that Shazam 2 is as bad as Birds of Prey, but things are certainly not looking good for the sequel, as it couldn’t even make more than the Harley Quinn movie.

It could be that DC fans are tired of the content devised before James Gunn took over. The new Shazam movie is one of the last two holdouts from the era of the DCEU. The only other movies that will be released are Aquaman 2 and The Flash. The latter is the only one that is getting positive reports currently.

Related: Zachary Levi Has A Wild Crossover Idea For Shazam 3

Zachary Levi and Dwayne Johnson had high hopes for their movies, though we all know that the new DCU has already let Johnson go. On the other hand, Levi was hoping that a third movie would move forward.

Granted, the DCU might have made room for the superhero’s third entry, but if these preview numbers indicate the overall gains, Shazam 2 might just be a box office bomb.

The same thing happened with Black Adam, which will no longer receive its proposed sequel.

Shazam was undoubtedly a movie nobody saw coming, as the first entry was enjoyable and funny. However, DC’s wanting to let this experiment go to a second movie might not pan out. After The Flash and Aquaman 2, the full DCU reset will likely be enacted.

Are you planning to see Shazam 2 in theaters? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!