Box Office Recap: March 17-19, 2023
Shazam! Fury of the Gods claims the top spot at the box office, but still comes up short of expectations.
It was a bit of a Phyrric victory for those at Warner Bros. and DC Studios. Despite winning the box office, the newest entry in their DC Extended Universe (DCEU), Shazam! Fury of the Gods, fell short of its $35-40 million pre-release expectations by $5-10 million with a $30 million debut. Some have suggested that the sequel’s middling opening could be due to the studio’s recent announcement that they are completely rebooting their DCEU, with filmmaker James Gunn (Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and DC’s The Suicide Squad) and producer Peter Safran leading the way, but depending on how well The Flash performs later this June, it could just mean that moviegoers weren’t all that sold on Shazam to begin with.
In first place, Warner Bros.’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods grossed $30.5 million domestically over its debut weekend, earning $7,492 per theater at 4,071 total locations. Looking back, this is a $20+ million drop from its 2019 predecessor which opened with $53.5 million and went on to gross $366.1 million worldwide against a $90-100 million budget. Though its critical reception was mixed, the sequel did earn solid feedback from opening weekend moviegoers, who gave the film a “B+” CinemaScore. Internationally, the DC Comics-based superhero film earned $35.0 million to help push its worldwide total to $65.5 million against a reported production budget of $125 million.
As for whether or not the favorable response from viewers will lead to steady box office legs, we won’t really know for sure until we see what kind of sophomore drop it receives next weekend. Time will only tell if this means fans have moved on from the previous DCEU and are ready for Gunn and Safran’s new direction for the DC Universe, or more forebodingly, as evidenced by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s disappointing run, if this means moviegoers are now finally growing jaded to the entire comic book superhero genre.
Landing in the runner-up spot, Paramount’s Scream VI pulled in $17.5 million domestically over its sophomore frame, moving its domestic total to $76.0 million. This marks a hefty -60.6% drop from its debut frame, earning a per-theater average of $4,760 at 3,676 locations. Internationally, the slasher horror sequel took in $40.0 million for a worldwide cume of $116.0 million against a reported production budget of $35 million. This places it a little over $20 million away from surpassing the final run of its predecessor, 2022’s Scream ($137.7 million).
While, at first glance, a hefty drop of over 60% might seem like a cause for concern, it isn’t out of the ordinary for films well received by both critics and moviegoers to receive such a second weekend drop, particularly for those that exceed pre-release expectations. 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home crushed its opening weekend expectations, only to then drop -67.5% over its sophomore weekend, and it went on to gross $1.91 billion worldwide. Of course, no one’s expecting Scream VI to match No Way Home’s numbers (and with its significantly smaller budget, it certainly doesn’t have to either), but it’s a relative comparison that simply suggests this kind of drop is no big deal, especially when you’ve already nearly quadrupled your production budget.
Finishing in third place, United Artists’s Creed III took in $15.4 million domestically, which moves its total domestic haul to $127.7 million. This marks a respectable -43.6% third weekend drop, earning a per-theater average of $4,421 at 3,477 locations. Overseas, the film has nearly matched its domestic run with $96.6 million, pushing its total worldwide run past the $200 million mark with $224.3 million against a reported production budget of $75 million.
In fourth place, Sony’s sci-fi actioner 65 earned $5.8 million domestically, a -53.0% drop from its debut frame last weekend. So far, the film’s total domestic run stands at $22.4 million, and with an additional $16.4 million earned from the international markets, its total worldwide gross is $38.8 million against a reported production budget of $45 million.
Rounding out the top five, Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania took in $4.1 million domestically over its fifth weekend in release, pushing its domestic total past the $200 million mark with $205.8 million. Internationally, the superhero sequel added $256.8 million to help bring its worldwide total to $462.6 million against a reported production budget of $200 million.
Opening this weekend, Lionsgate debuts the highly anticipated sequel to their hit John Wick franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4 starring Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard and Academy Award nominee Laurence Fishburne.
* Total worldwide gross listed in parenthesis.
1) Shazam! Fury of the Gods – $30.5 million, Week 1 ($65.5 million)
2) Scream VI – $17.5 million, Week 2 ($116.0 million)
3) Creed III – $15.4 million, Week 3 ($224.3 million)
4) 65 – $5.8 million, Week 2 ($38.8 million)
5) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – $4.1 million, Week 5 ($462.6 million)
6) Cocaine Bear – $3.9 million, Week 4 ($75.0 million)
7) Jesus Revolution – $3.5 million, Week 4 ($45.5 million)
8) Champions – $3.0 million, Week 2 ($12.1 million)
9) Avatar: The Way of Water – $1.9 million, Week 14 ($2.30 billion)
10) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – $1.5 million, Week 13 ($470.5 million)
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