‘Shazam!’ sequel tops N:America box office but lacks magic

Shazam! Fury of the Gods topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $30.5 million opening, but that represented a sharp dropoff from the original blockbuster and analysts called the result disappointing.

This is a soft opening for a non-Marvel superhero follow-up, down substantially from ‘Shazam 1,’ said industry analyst David A. Gross. Hollywood Reporter called it one of the worst starts for a major Hollywood superhero film.

The original Shazam! enjoyed a $53.5 million opening in April 2019, while the sequel, a DC Studios/New Line production distributed by Warner Bros. and starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Adam Brody and Rachel Zegler, cost more than $110 million to make and has had tepid reviews, according to Variety.

Last weekend’s top film, Scream VI from Paramount and Spyglass Media, slipped to second place, at $17.5 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday. Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Skeet Ulrich star in the latest edition of the horror series.