'Black Adam' Changes 'Hierarchy of Power' at Box Office

Variety.com: “Black Adam,” a superhero adventure starring Dwayne Johnson as a villain who promises to change the “hierarchy of power” in the DC universe, towered over box office charts with $67 million in its domestic debut.

The Warner Bros. comic book movie handily took down the weekend’s other new nationwide release, Universal’s romantic comedy “Ticket to Paradise,” which landed in second place with a better-than-expected $16.3 million from 3,543 cinemas. “Black Adam,” heading into the weekend, was projected to open to $62 million while playing in 4,350 theaters, but ticket sales were stronger than anticipated on Saturday and Sunday, leading the studio to revise estimates.

Internationally, “Black Adam” kicked off with $73 million from 76 markets for a global tally of $140 million.

“As a spin-off, this is a strong opening,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “‘Black Adam’ should do well abroad and be comfortably profitable.”

For a superhero origin story, the $67 million start for “Black Adam” isn’t Earth-shattering, though it ranks in line with its fellow DC movie 2018’s “Aquaman” ($67.8 million) and above 2019’s “Shazam!” ($53.5 million), which each managed to stick around in theaters long enough to validate the hundreds of millions that Warner Bros. spent to produce those films. Compared to antiheroes outside the DC space though, “Black Adam” earned far less than 2018’s “Venom,” which also centered on a lesser-known comic book character and opened to $80 million despite terrible reviews.

In the case of “Aquaman,” led by another hulking figure in Jason Momoa, the movie had the added benefit of playing around the holidays, ending its theatrical run with a robust $335 million domestically and $1 billion globally. “Black Adam” isn’t expected to have that kind of multiple, but since it cost a massive $195 million before marketing fees, it’ll also need to keep playing on the big screen for some time.

“Black Adam” is the sixth Warner Bros. film (out of six) this year to open in first place at the domestic box office, following “The Batman,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” “Elvis,” “DC League of Super-Pets” and “Don’t Worry Darling.”

And, in a win for movie theaters, “Black Adam” is the first film to open above $50 million since “Thor: Love and Thunder” in July. It’s also the first time the overall box office has collectively surpassed $100 million in one weekend since mid-July.