Shazam! is a 2019 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character. Produced by New Line Cinema and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the seventh installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Directed by David F. Sandberg from a screenplay by Henry Gayden, and a story by Gayden and Darren Lemke, the film stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage boy who can transform into an adult superhero, played by Zachary Levi. Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Djimon Hounsou also star. The plot follows Billy Batson, who is chosen by the ancient wizard Shazam as his new champion and receives various superpowers. Billy and his best friend Freddy Freeman (Grazer) must discover Billy's new powers in order to stop the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong) and the Seven Deadly Sins.
Development of a live-action Shazam! film began at New Line in the early 2000s but was delayed for many years. The film went into pre-production in 2009 with director Peter Segal and writer John August and Dwayne Johnson considered to star as the villain Black Adam, but the project fell through; Dwayne Johnson acts as an executive producer on Shazam!. William Goldman, Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen, Bill Birch, and Geoff Johns, among others, were all attached to the project as writers at various points. The film was officially announced in 2014, with Johnson attached to star as either Shazam or Black Adam. He would later be cast in January 2017 to lead a solo Black Adam development project, currently targeted for a December 2021 release. Sandberg signed on to direct Shazam! in February 2017 and Levi was cast that October, with Angel joining the following month. Principal photography began in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on January 29, 2018, with most of the film shot at Pinewood Toronto Studios, and wrapped on May 11, 2018.
Shazam! was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX 3D, 4DX and ScreenX on April 5, 2019. The film grossed $366 million worldwide, making it a box office success. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Sandberg's direction and the performances of Levi, Grazer, and Angel, as well as its light tone and sense of fun. A sequel is set for release on November 4, 2022.
Plot[]
Synopsis[]
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam, courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still, a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he'll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.
Summary[]
In 1974 Upstate New York, young Thaddeus Sivana is arguing with his father and brother during a car trip when he is transported to the Rock of Eternity, a magical temple hidden in another dimension. He meets the ancient wizard Shazam, the last of the Council of Seven Wizards, who has spent centuries searching for a new champion who is "pure of heart" after the previous champion went mad, releasing the Seven Deadly Sins upon the world. Thaddeus is tempted by the Sins, entrapped in statues, and is deemed unworthy and banished back to Earth. Upon returning, he makes a scene trying to go back which causes the car to swerve and crash; his father ends up crippled and his older brother blames the incident on him.
Many years later, four-year old Billy Batson is at a carnival with his mother, who is playing darts in vain to win a stuffed tiger. Billy's mother resigns herself to winning a pendant that she gives to Billy. Afterward, Billy loses the pendant ball and chases after it becoming separated from his mother. Lost, he is picked up by police who place Billy in a foster home.
In present-day Philadelphia, Billy Batson lures some police officers to a pawn shop and locks them in while he uses their police computer to search for information regarding his mother. Traveling to the address of a Rachel Batson, however, a different person answers before the police arrive to take him in. A social service workers introduces him to the Vasquez family, and Billy meets the rest of the family, Eugene, Darla, Pedro, Mary, and Freddy.
Back in an office of Sivana Industries, a woman is talking to a doctor through Skype about the wizard's lair. The doctor gets a video from the woman and presents to Dr. Sivana, who leads her to his office, where he reveals he has been tracking sightings around the world. The latest woman took a video of the incident, which shows her clock flashing magical symbols, same as the ones Thaddeus saw as a child. This allows Sivana to write out an incantation on a door that disintegrates the doctor when she touches it and opens a portal to the lair of the wizard, and he thusly enters. Upon entering, Sivana confronts the wizard, touches the tempting energy ball, releases the Seven Deadly Sins and absorbs all the Sins into his right eye, which now glows blue.
At school, the foster children show Billy around the school, as he adjusts. At lunch, Freddy sits with Billy and after trying to pester him for a few minutes - Freddy assumes that Billy stole his collectible Superman bullet - Billy assures him he didn't. At the end of the school day, Brett Breyer and Burke Breyer drive into Freddy and hit him. As they try to bully and beat him, Freddy's foster siblings try to stand up for him but are unsuccessful. After initially walking away from the family, Billy returns, stands up to the bullies, and hits them with Freddy's crutch. The Breyer brothers give chase and Billy runs away into a subway station and boards a train, narrowly escaping the bullies. While on the train, symbols appear and he enters the Rock of Eternity. The wizard reveals that he is the final surviving wizard of 7 and had previously given his powers to another champion, but the champion was later corrupted and employed his powers to kill numerous people and release the seven deadly sins into the world. The wizard vowed to search for someone who possessed a pure heart, leading to him to search for millennia. He chooses Billy, who has to say the word Shazam to obtain the wizard's power. Billy says the word and transforms into the champion Shazam, and the wizard disappears. Billy in the form of Shazam is then returned to the train. Shazam returns to the foster home and meets with Freddy to seek advice. They begin testing Billy's new abilities including lightning, super speed, strength, and bullet immunity. Returning to the home, Billy inadvertently says Shazam and he is returned to his younger self.
At Sivana industries, Dr. Sivana barges into a corporate meeting hosted by his brother and father, who had lost the use of his legs in the accident from the night in 1974. A confrontation between the siblings results in Sivana throwing his brother out of the window and Sivana shows off his eye and releases the Seven Deadly Sins. Sivana and the Sins slaughter everyone in the room except for his father. Finally, as Sivana is about to leave, his father pleads that he'll give him anything, Sivana asks his father what sin he has committed the most – the response is greed. Thus, Sivana has Greed to eat and kill his father.
Freddy has been posting videos of Shazam practicing his powers, which are going viral. Freddy and Billy are in school and skip school when Billy poses as Shazam to check them out. Leaving, they get around to test fire, flight, and strength. Happy, they walk through a mall where Billy use's his lightning ability to charge people's cell phones, get free sodas, attempt to purchase a lair from a real estate agent, and finally go to a strip club. Billy comes out and states that they need more money. They go to an ATM, zapping it and taking some of the money which is used to purchase merchandise.
Next day at school - the bullies begin to harass Freddy and Billy again until Freddy tells them he knows the new hero “red cyclone” - they don't believe him but he promises and tells them that he'll get him to show up to lunch tomorrow. Freddy and Billy get into a bit of an argument over him just assuming and trying to use Billy for his powers. That night at dinner the father asks the family what they think of the new hero - everyone gives input and Freddy takes a dig at Shazam and then he and Billy get into another argument leaving the rest of the family confused.
At school the next day Billy decides not to attend school because he feels the lack of need, despite Freddy asking for lunch. Shazam does various things, taking selfies, and showing off lightning for tips and money. He sees and saves Mary from being hit by a car, and talking to her makes him realize she is upset that, because of college, she will have to leave her family. Shazam tries to tell her to do it for herself, but in the process reveals he knows her name and that she's a foster child. At school, Freddy is surrounded by kids waiting for Shazam and is humiliated, at the art museum steps Shazam is putting on a lighting show saying “lightning with my hands” to the beat of “Eye of the Tiger.” Freddy shows up and tries to talk to him, yet Shazam tries to diffuse the situation, shooting lightning that hits a bus across the city, sending it off the side of the bridge. Catching it, Shazam puts it on the concrete, only to be promptly told he's not using his powers correctly by Freddy. Hearing the commotion, Dr. Sivana shows up and demands the powers that Shazam possesses. Brushing him off, Shazam is promptly thrown around and lands in a mall. Sivana hunts him down, but Shazam transforms back into Billy and runs. Freddy travels to the mall in search of Billy and Sivana takes notice, takes him hostage, and demands him to take him to Shazam. Back to the foster home, the foster siblings piece together that Billy is the hero. Billy shows up at the foster home and Eugene tells him where to find his birth mother; she is only two subway stops away. Billy rushes out of the house with his foster parents in tow. At the house, Sivana shows up with Freddy and traps the children. Billy arrives at his mother's apartment complex where his mother informs him that on that day, she purposefully left him with the police because she thought other people would take better care of him that she ever would. Leaving, he receives a call and Sivana tells him to come home. Billy jumps off the apartment building, transforms into Shazam, and flies home.
Shazam decides to give up the power to save his family and Sivana opens a magical door to the Rock of Eternity. Picking up the staff, Sivana unleashes the seven deadly sins, who surround Shazam and as he's about to give up his powers - Freddy, Darla, Eugene, Mary, and Pedro appear in the lair. Freddie throws his Batarang at Sivana's head and causes a knick that bleeds. Shazam grabs the Batarang, sticks it in Sivana's shoulder and flings him across the room, knocking him out. Shazam and his family try to escape until Shazam just remembers how he escaped when he got them - he thinks hard and transports them all back to the city.
Sivana notices the lighting from Shazam's transformation and attacks the Carnival, shooting at a Ferris wheel, almost tipping over. Sivana and Shazam fight all around the carnival. Getting a hold of the wizard's staff, Shazam and his family, yell the wizard's name, and transfers his power to his family, transforming them into the Shazam Family, each an adult superhero. Each of the Shazam Family fights a sin while Shazam and Sivana fly through the skyline, fighting. Back at the carnival, the family saves people while fighting off the sins. Darla begins to use her super speed ability to save the people on the Ferris wheel but she can't get everyone before Pedro is knocked away and the Ferris wheel takes another hit by one of the deadly sins.
As it goes to tip over - Freddy flies in and saves the last two people on it - the Breyer bullies. Shazam and Sivana end up on a rooftop and Shazam goads the one deadly sin who remains - Envy. It rips itself from Sivana's eye and Shazam yells Shazam, hurting it. Sivana has knocked off the roof. Shazam grabs Sivana, who is now powerless and drags him to the carnival, ripping the magical eye out, imprisoning the sins within it. Saving the day, the Shazam family basks in the cheers of the crowd, takes the eye back to the lair, and return the sins for safekeeping. Shazam and Freddy decide this is their lair. Back at the foster home, everyone returns to their original home and are watching a newscast of the carnival instance, with Santa Claus describing the event in a bleeped profane tirade. The Shazam Family all talk and laugh and Billy finally feels happy and safe in accepting a family.
At school, Freddy sits down at lunch and the entire table leaves so all his siblings come and sit next to him. The bullies show up and ask if he's still friends with red cyclone - Shazam shows up and tells the school how Freddy showed him everything it means to be a hero and that he also brought another friend – Superman. Freddy is stunned.
In the mid-credits scene, Sivana is in a prison cell in Rock Falls Penitentiary doodling the symbols all over the wall until he's interrupted by Mister Mind, who tells him of the pillars of evil that will come together and the seven realms of magic will be under their control. In the post-credits scene, Shazam is shown trying to talk to fish like Aquaman.
Cast[]
- Asher Angel as Billy Batson
- Zachary Levi as the Shazam Avatar
- David Kohlsmith as Young Billy
- Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana
- Ethan Pugiotto as Young Thaddeus Sivana
- Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman
- Adam Brody as the Freddy Freeman Avatar
- Djimon Hounsou as Shazam the Wizard
- Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield
- Michelle Borth as the Mary Bromfield Avatar
- Ian Chen as Eugene Choi
- Ross Butler as the Eugene Choi Avatar
- Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña
- D. J. Cotrona as the Pedro Peña Avatar
- Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley
- Meagan Good as the Darla Dudley Avatar
- Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez
- Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez
- Lotta Losten as Dr. Lynn Crosby
- Andi Osho as E. B. Glover
- Carson MacCormac as Brett Breyer
- Evan Marsh as Burke Breyer
- Caroline Palmer as Marilyn Batson
- John Glover as Mr. Sivana
- Wayne Ward as Sid Sivana
- Landon Doak as Young Sid Sivana
- Tabitha Tao as Kuan
- David F. Sandberg as Mister Mind and Travis (voice)
- Ryan Handley as Superman
- Steven Blum, Darin De Paul and Fred Tatasciore as Seven Deadly Enemies of Man (voice)
Unknown Characters[]
- Paul Braunstein as Officer
- Nadine Roden as Officer
- Lovina Yavari as Store Clerk
- Paloma Nuñez as Realtor
- Rachel Boyd as Senior Girl
- Jesse Bond as Father at Carnival
- Harper Gunn as Little Girl at Carnival
Production[]
Development[]
New Line Cinema began development of a Shazam! live-action feature film in the early 2000s, with multiple screenplay drafts, by William Goldman, the team of Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen, Bryan Goluboff, and John August. The version of the Shazam! script written by August, which went into pre-production in 2008, was an action-comedy which focused on the origin story of the hero, then known by his original name of Captain Marvel, and his young alter ego, Billy Batson. Peter Segal was attached as director and Dwayne Johnson was in talks to appear as the film's villain, Black Adam. New Line Cinema was absorbed into Warner Bros. during the course of development.
Following the success of Warner's Batman film The Dark Knight and the commercial failure of its lighter, family-friendly Speed Racer, both during the summer of 2008, August departed from the project, citing pressure from the studio to make the screenplay darker and more serious. In August 2009, Bill Birch and Geoff Johns, a prominent DC Comics writer, were assigned to write the screenplay, while Segal remained attached as director. In August 2010, the studio considered canceling the theatrical movie in favor of a live-action series for prime time network television. In December 2013, Segal stated that the film would not be happening, as the similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman had become an obstacle after the successful launch of Man of Steel earlier that year.
While development on the Shazam! film was in limbo, DC Comics rebooted the comic book franchise as part of their New 52 relaunch in 2012. Due to ongoing trademark conflicts with Marvel Comics, who owned the trademark for "Captain Marvel" for use with their own character of the same name, DC renamed their Captain Marvel superhero character "Shazam" at this time. DC had been required to market and promote the character using the trademark Shazam!, since acquiring the publishing rights from Fawcett Comics in 1972. Captain Marvel had originated at Fawcett in 1939, but fell into limbo after 1953 following a long legal battle with DC over Captain Marvel's similarities to Superman.
In April 2014, Warner Bros. revealed their upcoming slate of films based on DC Comics properties. A Justice League film was set to be released in 2017, alongside adaptations of Shazam!, Fables, and 100 Bullets. The Shazam! film was tentatively set for release in July 2016. Dwayne Johnson stated he would be starring in Shazam! that August, but was undecided between portraying Shazam or Black Adam. In September, Johnson was cast as Black Adam, while Darren Lemke was set to write the script. In January 2017, Henry Gayden was hired to rewrite Lemke's script. In February 2017, David F. Sandberg was in talks with the studio to direct Shazam!, while Dwayne Johnson was set to star in a Black Adam solo film, as opposed to appearing as the villain in Shazam!, while Doctor Sivana, another nemesis of Shazam, became the Shazam! film's main villain.
By July 2017, the studio had begun active development on Shazam! and Sandberg was confirmed as director, with production to begin in early 2018. Dwayne Johnson relayed that a different creative team was now involved than when he first signed on to the film. After being cast as the lead, Zachary Levi stated in an interview, "the idea is that it's gonna feel like the movie Big, but with super powers," when was asked about the direction DC Films and New Line Cinema are going for with Shazam! Warner Bros. stated that the film would be based on the 2012-2013 Shazam! backup feature from the Justice League comic book, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank, which told a modernized version of Shazam's origin.
Pre-production[]
In August 2017, director David F. Sandberg stated that the film would be the next to shoot in the DC universe, and by the end of the month, it had begun pre-production. By October 2017, cinematographer Maxime Alexandre and production designer Jennifer Spence, who previously worked with Sandberg on Annabelle: Creation, were added to the production. The next month, Aquaman stunt coordinator Kyle Gardiner was hired to work on the film's action sequences. On January 12, 2018, the film's release date was announced as April 19, 2019, later moved to April 5.
Casting[]
By September 2014, Dwayne Johnson was set to portray Black Adam in the film, but by July 2017, he had left the project to pursue a Black Adam solo film. In August 2017, the casting process for Shazam and other characters had begun. Sandberg had stated in an interview that instead of de-aging an actor using special effects or CGI, he would cast both a child actor and an adult actor for the role of the main character. Zachary Levi, John Cena, Zane Holtz, Jake McDorman, Derek Theler and Billy Magnussen all met with and/or auditioned for Sandberg for the role of Shazam.
By October 2017, Levi was cast in the titular role. In November, Grace Fulton joined the cast as Mary Bromfield, one of Billy Batson's foster siblings. Fulton had previously worked with the same director on Annabelle: Creation. Later that month, Mark Strong was in final negotiations to play Dr. Sivana. Strong confirmed he would be playing the role by January 2018. By November 2017, Asher Angel was cast as the titular hero's teenage originator Billy Batson. In December, Jack Dylan Grazer was added as Freddy Freeman, Batson's best friend. Later that month, Jovan Armand, Ian Chen, Faithe Herman, and Cooper Andrews were cast as Pedro Peña, Eugene Choi, and Darla Dudley, with Andrews portraying Victor Vazquez, one of Billy Batson's foster parents.
By January 2018, Ron Cephas Jones entered talks to play the role of the wizard Shazam, who granted Batson his powers. Later that month, Spanish actress Marta Milans joined the cast to play Rosa Vazquez, one of the foster parents at the home where Billy lives. By the end of January 2018, actress Lotta Losten, the wife of director David F. Sandberg, revealed that she has a role in the film. On April 23, 2018, Ross Butler was announced to have joined the cast. By July, Djimon Hounsou had replaced Jones as the wizard Shazam, due to Jones having scheduling conflicts. Henry Cavill was in talks to reprise his role as Superman from previous DCEU films for a cameo, but was unable to because of scheduling.
Filming[]
Principal photography for Shazam! began in Toronto and Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada on January 29, 2018, under the working title Franklin, and wrapped by mid-May 2018. The film was set primarily in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is firmly established within the DCEU. Most of the production was shot at Pinewood Toronto Studios, and also several public locations around the city, including the University of Toronto, Woodbine Shopping Centre, and Hearn Generating Station. In early March 2018, filming took place at Fort York National Historic Site in downtown Toronto. By early May 2018, Asher Angel, among other young cast members, had finished filming his part, and principal photography wrapped on May 11, 2018. Additional photography took place in Toronto between November and December 2018. Scenes set at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and well as other location work such as footage of the skyline and aerial shots, were filmed in the city of Philadelphia in December 2018. Shazam! had a production budget of $90–100 million (and about $102 million once post-production was complete), making it the least expensive DCEU film to-date.
Post-production[]
David F. Sandberg's two-time collaborator Michel Aller served as the editor for Shazam!. Mike Wassel (Hellboy II: The Golden Army and The Fast and the Furious franchise) and Kelvin McIlwain (Aquaman) were the overall visual effects supervisors for the film. Technicolor's VFX studios Mr. X (known for The Shape of Water and Tron: Legacy) and Moving Picture Company (MPC) provided visual effects. Rodeo FX, DNEG, Digital Domain, and Rise FX also worked on the VFX.
Mr. X was responsible for the scenes inside the Rock of Eternity, a dark cave-like environment where the Seven Deadly Sins are imprisoned. Four major sequences take place here, including the opening scene when a young Thad enters and is rejected as the new hero; when he returns as the older Dr. Sivana; when Billy enters and becomes Shazam; and the final showdown between Shazam and Sivana. VFX Supervisor Aaron Weintraub and the team at Mr. X were brought on board three months before shooting began in Toronto – where the town was abuzz with this exciting project and the mayor talked it up frequently. Weintraub found working with Sandberg and the filmmaking team to be an open, inviting, and collaborative experience.
While the first level of the Rock of Eternity was an elaborately built set, everything above 20 feet was a digital environment extension, and within that was every type of visual effect – from bringing Shazam's chest bolt to life; to stunts with digi-doubles, people melting and statues crumbling; to the Orb and the Seven Deadly Sins flying in and out of it. the final showdown between Shazam and Sivana, in which the latter lets loose his gang of monsters, a 360 shot where seven creatures form from smoke unleashed from within.
Rodeo FX team deliver more than 130 shots to DC's latest entry, Shazam!. RodeoFX team recreate the city backdrop for the boardroom sequence. Using photographs of Pittsburgh, They built matte paintings of the city as seen from the boardroom, adding buildings and bustlings streets.
For the title sequence, They delivered the compositing of the company logos in the opening credits and built and animated the magic 8 ball in CG, adding frost and rays of light beam along matching the effects from the key subway scene from the film.
Digital Domain worked on 26 VFX shots for the movie. Additionally Rise FX and DNEG provide visual effects for the film and the 3D conversion.
Music[]
- Main article: Shazam! (soundtrack)
On July 21, 2018, Benjamin Wallfisch was announced as the composer for Shazam!, marking his third collaboration with director David F. Sandberg after previously scoring Sandberg's Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. Wallfisch had also provided additional music for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the second film in the DC Extended Universe.
Wallfisch cited John Williams and scores from 1980s Amblin Entertainment films as inspirations for Shazam!, to match the tone of a film about "an old-school superhero from the Golden Age." In writing the score, Wallfisch stated that he was "picturing what might happen if a 14-year-old was put in front of a 100 piece orchestra and told there were no limits. I wanted the score to feel like it might have been written by an exuberant kid just having the time of his life with an orchestra."
Marketing[]
In April 2018, a first look at Shazam! was shown at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, as director David F. Sandberg introduced behind-the-scene footage. During an interview with Film Riot Podcast in June 2018, Sandberg stated that "On this one, it was just like 'Yeah, I want this to be a classic superhero movie.' It takes place in the winter, so it's a lot of dark exteriors, but with a lot of colorful lights and stuff around them." On July 21, 2018, the first teaser trailer was shown at San Diego Comic-Con during the Warner Bros. panel at Hall H, with Sandberg, Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, and Jack Dylan Grazer in attendance. The trailer was later released online. It received a favorable response from journalists and audiences, who praised its humorous, zany tone.
New footage from the film made its debut at Brazil Comic Con (CCXP) in São Paulo on December 9, 2018 during the Warner Bros. studio panel, with the footage described for the attendees as action-packed. A new trailer was released on March 4, and a three-minute sneak peek was included with the digital home media of Aquaman. At the STP 500 on March 24, 2019, Shazam! was the primary sponsor of Aric Almirola and the #10 Ford Mustang in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Almirola would go on to finish 9th after starting 2nd. Altogether the studio spent about $105 million promoting the film.
Release[]
Theatrical[]
On March 13, 2019, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that they were teaming up with Fandango for exclusive preview screenings on March 23, two weeks before release, on 1,200 select screens and 40 exhibition circuits. Shazam! premiered in Toronto on March 15, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, IMAX, ScreenX and IMAX 3D Formats, in April 5, 2019.
Home media[]
Shazam! was released on digital download on July 2, 2019, and was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on July 16. The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and gag reels. The film was released on home medis in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2019/ also receive a release on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on 12 August 2019, in the United Kingdom. As of April 10, 2020, Shazam! has made $8 million in DVD sales and $20.4 million in Blu-ray sales, totaling an estimated of $28.3 million in domestic video sales.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Shazam! grossed $140.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $225.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $366 million. It was estimated that the film needed to gross $235–250 million worldwide in order to break even, and Deadline Hollywood calculated the film made a net profit of $74 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
In the United States and Canada, Shazam! was released alongside The Best of Enemies and Pet Sematary, and was projected to gross $40–50 million from 4,260 theaters in its opening weekend. Two weeks before its release, the film grossed $3.3 million from Fandango advance screenings, higher than the $2.9 million made by fellow DCEU film Aquaman the previous December. It then made $5.9 million from Thursday night screenings on April 4, for a combined preview total of $9.2 million. The film grossed a total of $20.5 million on its first day, including Thursday previews but not the March screenings. It went on to debut to $53.5 million, finishing first at the box office. In its second weekend the film made $25.1 million, retaining the top spot, before being dethroned by newcomer The Curse of La Llorona in its third weekend. In its fourth weekend, it made $5.8 million and finished fifth at the box office, including behind fellow superhero films Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel.
In other territories, the film was released in 53 markets on Wednesday, April 3 and Thursday, April 4, and was projected to debut to $100–120 million, for a global opening of $145–170. In its first two days of international release the film made $15.7 million, finishing first in 48 of its 53 markets. It was then released in an additional 26 countries, including China, where it made $16.4 million on its first day. It went on to have an international debut of $102 million, and a global total of $158.6 million. It came in first in 60 of its 79 markets, with its highest-grossing being China ($43.4 million), Mexico ($10.6 million), Australia ($10.3 million), the UK ($15.3 million), Russia ($8.4 million) and Brazil ($8.7 million).
Critical response[]
At the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 385 reviews, with an average rating of 7.28/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "An effortlessly entertaining blend of humor and heart, Shazam! is a superhero movie that never forgets the genre's real power: joyous wish fulfillment." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 83% and a 61% "definite recommend."
Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com said that "while Shazam! is goofier (and darker) than it may look, you'll wish its superhero came with a little more spark," while The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck called the film "Big on steroids" and praised the tone and performances. Alonso Duralde of TheWrap wrote, "If the Wonder Woman and Aquaman movies represented DC Comics' first big-screen steps away from the austere color palette of the Zack Snyder movies, Shazam! takes us deeply into primary colors in a single bound... this new DC entry has a lovely lightness, both in the visuals and in its tone."
Writing for The A.V. Club, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky gave the film a "B−" and said: "...while the story of an extremely overpowered champion rising to challenge a one-dimensionally sinister baddie might seem like the epitome of simplicity, Shazam! is still a modern-day tentpole blockbuster, overburdened with backstories for both hero and villain and subtexts that it can't (or won't) fully articulate." That publication followed up with a further consideration of masculinity in the film and the superhero genre generally, focusing on the transition of Billy Batson from an adolescent boy to a man with power and responsibility. Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 3/5 stars, specifying, "The finale, while admirably self-contained and small-scale, grinds on for far too long, a boring escalation of anti-climaxes that cumulatively dull the intended emotional impact. It's a film in need of a tighter edit with a script in need of a sharper polish, an imperfect franchise-launcher that nonetheless represents significant progress for DC."
Accolades[]
Sequel[]
In April 2019, TheWrap reported that New Line Cinema is developing a sequel with Henry Gayden returning to write the film, along with David F. Sandberg directing and Peter Safran producing. In December 2019, New Line Cinema announced that the sequel will be released on April 1, 2022. But, on April 20, 2020, it was announced that the film would be delayed to November 4, 2022 due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic shifting around the release dates of several films.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
External Links[]
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Shazam! at the Internet Movie Database
- Shazam! at the TCM Movie Database
Shazam! at Wikipedia
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Shazam! (film). The revision history lists the authors. The text on Warner Bros. Entertainment Wiki and Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). |
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