Black Adam has stood beneath undesirable spotlights for the past few days after reports indicated that the Warner Bros. project was heading down a path of financial loss for the evolving studio. The highly-anticipated film, however, looks to be traveling in a promising direction, with economic trends indicating the narrative will break even and possibly pocket close to $52-$72 million.
Black Adam centers around the reawakened titular anti-hero and stars Dwayne Johnson as the centerpiece of the newly formed world beneath the umbrella of the DC Universe. The film was hyped throughout its promotional rollout months before its release, with Warner Bros. even pushing the debut of several projects to 2023 to ensure it had the cash to release Black Adam this year. As a result, lofty confidence weighed on this film, making the possibility of financial loss troublesome for the characters future.
As reported by Deadline, the Warner Bros. film will ultimately perform better than earlier reports indicated. Projections had Black Adam losing roughly $50-$100 million, which made the idea of continuing with the character unfathomable for the studio. Those early projections, however, appeared to tell a story different from the film's trajectory, which is heading toward a profit of $52-$72 million. Johnson confirmed the earnings via Twitter while hinting that more could be coming from the anti-hero.
While breaking even and turning a profit would be deemed a success for Black Adam, the possibility of a sequel is still something Warner Bros. is not likely to pursue. The film generated roughly $165 million domestically and currently sits 10th on the domestic box office standings, coming in behind every notable superhero film released this year. Matt Reeves' The Batman is presently the studio's best-performing narrative this year domestically, earning roughly $396 million during its run. Black Adam was ultimately an expensive endeavor, and the payout is not delivering what Warner Bros. undoubtedly expected from the investment.
Black Adam finished in 7th place at the domestic box office this past weekend, earning roughly $1.665 million to close out its 7th weekend in theaters. It is unclear how long the film will continue to run in a theatrical setting, especially with the release of James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water approaching to seize audiences' attention. Ultimately, Black Adam will avoid financial loss with the help of merchandise and other elements that will help balance out the film's moderate box office numbers. Johnson has not been shy about his belief in the film, which he claimed to be a new hierarchy power that would shift the DC Universe. It will be interesting to see what the future for Black Adam holds and if the earnings are enough to run things back a second time.
Black Adam is currently playing in theaters and is available to stream on entertainment platforms.
Source: Deadline