Dwayne Johnson and Warner Bros. zapped fans on Wednesday when they announced that DC would push back its entire film slate — including Johnson’s eagerly awaited “Black Adam” and “DC League of Super-Pets.” But those delays could end up putting two other DC sequels, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” in better position for box office success.
As with their counterparts at Disney and Marvel Studios, Warner Bros. and DC Films shifted most of their films back to placeholder release dates, with “Super-Pets” moving from May to the slot previously held by “Black Adam” on July 29. Meanwhile, “Black Adam” will open on Oct. 21, “Aquaman 2” will be land in March 2023, and “The Flash” will move to June 2023.
The one movie that moves forward is “Shazam 2,” which was previously set for June 2023 but will now be Warner Bros.’ holiday offering, with a release this year on Dec. 12.
Sources at Warner Bros. told TheWrap that the release shift was due to postproduction issues rather than any grand box office strategy. Specifically, production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a backlog for visual effects vendors, with DC Films unable to find an available VFX team for several of the studio’s projects. The release delays were made to accommodate the vendors’ schedules.
But these changes have another upside for the films’ box office outlook, particularly “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” as it now will no longer directly compete against another sequel with a massive production budget and billion-dollar dreams: Twentieth Century’s “Avatar 2,” due to open Dec. 16.
While “Aquaman 2” can always rely on DC’s core fan base for a strong turnout, it would have spent this holiday season competing both for casual moviegoers and space in Imax (and other premium-format venues) with James Cameron’s long-delayed sequel to the highest grossing film of all time. While much could change between now and December, the global box office in the pandemic era has so far not seen multiple tentpoles hit $1 billion worldwide, as was the case in holiday seasons past.
But now, “Aquaman 2” has landed a March berth where it stands as the sole four-quadrant tentpole — a film that appeals to the four major demographics of the moviegoing audience, males and females both under and over age 25. Other films slated for that month are aimed toward a specific demo, including Disney’s family-leaning “Haunted Mansion” and Lionsgate’s more mature “John Wick: Chapter 4.”
This will mean that “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” will be free to screen for several weeks on Imax and other premium screens, and won’t face “Avatar”-level competition in overseas markets that could lead the sequel to fall short of the $1.14 billion grossed by the first “Aquaman.”
Meanwhile, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” will now be the DC film going against “Avatar 2,” prompting some good-natured quips from director David F. Sandberg about the new competition. “Poor James Cameron must be shaking in his boots right now,” he joked on Twitter.
But “Shazam 2” has a much lower bar to clear than “Aquaman 2” does. It’s likely to have a lower production spend. The first “Shazam” had a reported $100 million budget, compared to $160 million for “Aquaman,” but managed to gross $366 million worldwide.
“Not only is assessment of the competitive landscape at the top of the list of priorities, but also gauging the profitability factor when weighing dates for their bigger budgeted DC Films like ‘Aquaman 2’ versus a film like ‘Shazam 2,’ which is equally as important, but presumably at a lower production budget level,” Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian said. “This is chess, it ain’t checkers, and so the long-term view of the marketplace and how best to maximize the chances for success of their films is, and should be, every studio’s top priority.”
In addition, “Shazam 2” can provide something different for holiday moviegoers than “Avatar 2” or even Universal/Illumination’s “Super Mario Bros.,” which is also due in theaters in December. While one is a big-spectacle blockbuster and the other is an animated family film, “Shazam 2,” if its predecessor is any indication, will straddle the line between those two lanes.
“Shazam” stood out from the wide array of superhero films and TV shows by presenting a story from a kid’s perspective, with foster teen Billy Batson (Asher Angel) figuring out how to handle his new superpowered alter ego Shazam (Zachary Levi) with the help of his superhero-loving group-home roommate Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer).
By playing further into the escapism of comic book films, “Shazam!” built strong word-of-mouth among kids and teens that should build more interest for the sequel while they are out of school this winter, especially considering that Gen Z kids probably have less nostalgia for “Avatar,” a film many of them were too young to see when it came out 13 years ago.
Prior to this week, DC Films was looking at a 2022 where it had a puncher’s chance of outgrossing Marvel since it had slated five films while Disney has only booked three MCU films — sequels to “Doctor Strange” (May 6), “Thor” (July 8) and “Black Panther” (Nov. 11). While that head-to-head calendar battle is now off due to the lingering ramifications of the pandemic, Warner Bros.’ double-down on franchise blockbusters for its theatrical slate is still looking like it will pay off in a big way, even if it takes a little bit longer to bear fruit.