‘Shazam!’ takes off
The well-reviewed, relatively modestly budgeted “Shazam!” debuts with $53.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend.
Seven films in, the DC Extended Universe is finally flying with some wind behind its back. The well-reviewed, relatively modestly budgeted “Shazam!” debuted with $53.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing DC its latest critical and box-office success.
Though one of the oldest characters in DC’S superhero stable, “Shazam!” doesn’t boast the namerecognition of Batman or Superman. But by scaling back to a $100 million budget and going for the lighter, comic tone, “Shazam!” steadily built up its word of mouth with stellar reviews. Warner Bros. also showed the film nationwide two weeks before opening, where it made $3 million in advance screenings.
“Shazam!” came out well ahead of the weekend’s other top draw, “Pet Sematary.” Paramount Pictures’ remake of the original 1989 Stephen King adaptation opened in a distant second with $25 million. It’s a solid start for “Pet Sematary,” though far from the haul that the last big-screen adaptation of King’s conjured up: “It” opened with $123.4 million in 2017.
Last week’s top film, “Dumbo,” slid steeply in its second week. Landing in third, the Disney live-action remake dropped 60% with $18.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore.
1. “Shazam!” $53.4 million.
2. “Pet Sematary,” $25 million.
3. “Dumbo,” $18.2 million.
4. “Us,” $13.8 million.
5. “Captain Marvel,” $12.7 million.
6. “The Best of Enemies,” $4.5 million.
7. “Five Feet Apart,” $3.7 million.
8. “Unplanned,” $3.2 million.
9. “Wonder Park,” $2 million.
10. “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” $2 million.