“I got paid all my money”: Shazam 2 Director Knew the $125 Million Movie Would Be A Box Office Flop

byTushar AuddyMarch 19, 2023, 7:23 am

The highly anticipated Shazam! Fury of The Gods hit the theatres on 17th March 2023, and it looks like the movie has failed to stand up to its expectations. Despite having positive reactions from critics at first, the film is transforming into yet another DC failure. Even though it sounds surprising to some people but it turns out David F. Sandberg was not surprised at all. He knew that his $125 million sequel would end up being a disappointment at the Box Office.

The sequel which continues from the events of the first movie was not half good as the first installment. While Shazam! was popular among young adults for its humor and action scenes, the second installment was underwhelming and joins DC's collection of Box Office disappointments.

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After a user tagged David F. Sandberg in a Reddit thread that showcased the Box Office numbers, he gave his reaction to the performance of the film. In a now-deleted Reddit comment the director of Shazam 2 stated how he was not surprised at all, and he knew where the film was "heading a long time ago."

"No worries. It's not like this comes as a surprise. I saw where this was heading a long time ago. I’ll be alright though. I got paid all my money upfront [smiley emoji]."

To clarify his comments, the Lights Out director said on a Twitter thread that he gave a cheeky comment on Reddit because he "what the box office tracking was looking like."

"The director of ‘Shazam’ has also been following you on Twitter for a long time… That's not what I meant. I meant I knew what the box office tracking was looking like. The pay comment was just me being cheeky, hence the [smiley emoji]."

Shazam 2 had the worst opening in the history of DC films as it racked up only $3.4 million falling short behind Birds of Prey's $4.0 million. And on the opening weekend, the sequel collected $35 million domestically, considerably lower than the first film's $53.5 million. But why did Shazam! Fury of the Gods underperformed?

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Neither David F. Sandberg nor the DC fans are taken aback by the poor performance of the film, but the director will not call it a flop. Because according to the director, there are two reasons greater than the film's quality has affected its success.

Firstly, the marketing for the sequel was below average. Regular audiences who do not follow DC films did not have any idea that Zachary Levi's character is getting a sequel. Even though marketing does not seem to be a big part of films, it is quite important to create hype among the audience, which would lead to a better opening on the first day.

Secondarily, the news of James Gunn rebooting the DC Universe was so much hyped that the news of the sequel got lost in its shadow. Since the doubtful sequel has put a question on Zachary Levi's future in James Gunn's DCU. Hopefully, the newly appointed Co-CEO would see the potential in the actor and soon sketch plans for his character.

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Shazam! Fury of The Gods can be watched in theatres.

Source: Twitter

David F. SandbergZachary Levi

A voracious reader and a wordsmith at heart. Tushar is a student of Linguistics, who's always on the lookout for a good book or a captivating story. He has a passion for literature that runs deep and loves nothing more than getting lost in a novel for hours on end. When he isn't reading, you'll find him scribbling down his thoughts and musings, always eager to capture the beauty of language.