The Rock Criticized For ‘Shazam 2’s Subpar $30 Million Box Office Opening Weekend

The Rock is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in pro wrestling as well as Hollywood. However, that does not mean that he can create gold out of just about anything. After the failure of his ‘Black Adam’ film, it seems he has been blamed for ‘Shazam 2’s’ subpar opening weekend as well.

The highly anticipated release of “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” from Warner Bros. and DC Comics left the studios disappointed after its underwhelming performance at the box office on opening weekend.

The film was expected to have blockbuster appeal, with a budget of $110 million and an additional $100 million spent on marketing, but it only managed to pull in just over $30 million. Many critics are pointing the finger at Dwayne Johnson, who starred as Black Adam in his separate film.

Following the release of his own film, the former wrestling star appeared uninterested in jumping back into the superhero arena and refused to reprise his role as Black Adam for “Shazam”.

This move left many fans irked, especially since Black Adam and Shazam share similarities that could have made for a good look. “Shazam’s” director, David F. Sandberg, shared his thoughts on Twitter, stating that he too is washing his hands of the superhero circuit.

Despite the disappointment in the film’s performance, Sandberg expressed no regrets in making the “Shazam” movies. He also stated that he’s looking forward to disconnecting from the superhero discourse online, as it stresses him out. C

onversations surrounding whether or not the film would have performed better with Johnson attached are ongoing. While some call Johnson selfish for his decision, others empathize with the criticism he faced over his portrayal of Black Adam.

“On Rotten Tomatoes I just got my lowest critic score and my highest audience score on the same film 🤷‍♂️,” he wrote.” I wasn’t expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think it’s a good film. Oh well. As I’ve been saying for a while now I’m very eager to go back to horror (as well as trying some new things). After six years of Shazam I’m definitely done with superheroes for now.” “Just to be clear, I don’t regret even for a second making the Shazam movies.

I’ve learned so much and gotten to work with some truly amazing people. Will forever be grateful that I got to direct two of these! They’ve been very challenging but valuable experiences. One thing I’ve really been looking forward to is disconnecting from the superhero discourse online. A lot of that stresses me out so much and it will be nice not having to think about that anymore.”

However, some have noted that “Shazam” isn’t an intimate fixture in the DC universe, and the studios must find a way to rope in the storyline to make sense to their core audience.

Despite its underperformance, the film boasted heavy-hitters such as Zachary Levi, Lucy Liu, Meagan Good, Adam Brody, Asher Angel, and Rachel Zegler. The studios are still pressing forward with the character in future films, but they may need to make significant changes to attract more viewers.

Did you watch Shazam 2? Do you think its failure is The Rock’s fault? Sound off in the comments!