It was another triumphant week at the top of the US box office for Warner Bros. and DC, as Shazam! followed in the blockbusting footsteps of Aquaman, and topped the weekend box office with $55.3 million (or $56.8 million including previews).
While these might not seem like the kind of numbers posted by his spandex wearing peers (Captain Marvel earned another $12.7 million in its fifth weekend, for a global total of $1.04 billion), Shazam! carries a relatively tiny budget of $09 million, no real stars to speak of, and a superhero without any discernible links to an extended universe.
Judged using those caveats, this is a huge win for DC, and a surefire sign that they have a franchise on their hands. The domestic numbers were backed up by the overseas earnings, where the Zachary Levi headlined grossed a further $102 million internationally, including $30.9 million in China, for a total worldwide opening weekend of $158.6 million.
Landing in second place was the latest offering from the increasingly lucrative Stephen King back catalogue, Pet Sematary, which wasn’t buried towards the bottom of the charts, managing to frighten audiences to the tune of $25 million. It only cost $21 million to make, so studio execs will be quick to greenlight the next horror adaptation.
Perhaps the most surprising news is how quickly Dumbo has dropped his feather. Disney’s Tim Burton directed family film fell a whopping 60.4% in its second week, with takings for the tiny elephant dipping to $18.2 million, and a running total of just over $76 million, which in terms of the live-action Disney remakes, is peanuts.
Us crossed the $200 million mark worldwide, taking another $13 million at the domestic box-office, while Claire Denis’ critically acclaimed Robert Pattinson starring sci-fi, High Life, snared an impressive $100,000 from just four theaters. Read our review here.
You can find the full rundown over at BoxOfficeMojo.
Shazam sees Zachary Levi starring as the titular superhero, with Asher Angel as his young alter-ego Billy Batson, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Jovan Armand as Pedro Peña, Grace Fulton as Mary Marvel, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Mark Strong as Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, Djimon Hounsou as the Wizard, Adam Brody as Freddie Freeman, Ross Butler as Eugene Choi, D. J. Cotrona as Pedro Pena, Meagan Good as Darla Dudley, and Michelle Borth as Mary Bromfield. The film is set for release on April 5th 2019.
