Will Dwayne Johnson's 'Black Adam' be a game-changer for DC?
What's the story
There's no stopping Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam at the box office! The film—which was released in the United States on October 21—has been successful in drawing crowds to the theaters and has set the cash registers ringing. It is reportedly mounted on a jaw-dropping budget of $200M! Apart from Johnson, it co-stars Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge, Pierce Brosnan, and is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Black Adam made his first appearance in DC Comics in the 1940s. The film also marks "The Rock"s entrance into DC. Dwayne Johnson has described the character as a "champion of the poor and beaten down." Black Adam is dubbed as "DC's greatest antihero" who locks horns with the mighty Justice Society of America, which includes Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.
Box office success
Movie has made $140M (and counting) so far!
It seems like the tepid and mixed reviews haven't impacted Black Adam's commercial performance at all! Per The Box Office Mojo, the film has already raked in a whopping $140M at the global box office over the three-day weekend. Moreover, it is crowned at the top in the US with a staggering $67M, and another $73M coming in from 76 other countries.
Comparison
'Black Adam's performance in comparison to other Warner Bros. films
With these numbers, Black Adam has now defeated DC's Shazam, which was released in 2019 and earned $53.5M. However, Jason Momoa's Aquaman towers over both with $67.8M. Additionally, Black Adam is the sixth Warner Bros. movie to debut at the top spot in the US, following The Batman, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Elvis, DC League of Super-Pets, and Don't Worry Darling.
DC's records
How will 'Black Adam' fare in terms of DCEU collections?
Momoa-led Aquaman remains DC's biggest hit to date and its global box office collection stands at approximately $1.148B! It is followed by the extremely popular and fan-favorite Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with $863.6M and Wonder Woman with $822.8M. Once Black Adam's box office run ends, it'll be interesting to see where the film will end up on this list.
Background
All about Adam's powers, backstory
Adam is known to be the corrupt, ancient Egyptian predecessor of Shazam. The latter calls upon the Greek gods for his powers. Interestingly, Adam possesses powers similar to Superman. "He has Superman-level powers for sure, with a magic aspect to it. Super speed, electricity, extremely invulnerable...he's the full gamut like you would see in the comic books," producer Hiram Garcia had revealed earlier.