Warner Bros./New Line/DC’s “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods” is expected to make substantially less at the box office than its 2019 predecessor, and that is playing out with Thursday previews as the sequel made $3.4 million from more than 3,400 theaters.
Four years ago, “Shazam!” earned $6 million from Thursday previews en route to a $53.5 million opening weekend, beating projections of a $45 million launch. Heading into this weekend, “Shazam 2” projections have stayed at $35 million-$38 million.
While there is still a possibility that this $100 million superhero film could still pass the break-even point from such an opening weekend, the film would have to gather considerable word-of-mouth in the coming weeks to do so, particularly among families looking for a day at the movies as schools have spring break on a rolling basis through late March and early April.