New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘Black Adam,’ with Dwayne Johnson, debuts with $67M at box office
NEW YORK — Warner Bros.' “Black Adam” opened with an estimated $67 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing Dwayne Johnson his biggest box-office weekend as a leading man and launching the D.C. Comics character he spent a decade to bring to the big screen.
“Black Adam” was a $200-million bid to upset the power balance in a DC Extended Universe dominated by the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. The $67 million debut fell well shy of that stratosphere, even with the considerable draw of Johnson acting in his first superhero movie. Still, “Black Adam” managed the highest opening weekend since “Thor: Love and Thunder” debuted with $143 million in July.
“Black Adam,” which stars Johnson as an ancient Egyptian summoned to the modern day, was notably hobbled by poor reviews (40 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Moviegoers were kinder, giving the film a B+ CinemaScore. It collected $73 million internationally for a $140 million global haul.
“Black Adam” took a circuitous route to reach theaters. The character had originally been planned to launch as a villain in 2019's “Shazam!” before executives pivoted to give Black Adam a standalone feature. The goofier “Shazam!,” which cost closer to $100 million to make, opened with $53.5 million in ticket sales and wound up an overachieving success with $366 million worldwide.
“Ticket to Paradise,” the Bali-set romantic comedy starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, proved smart counterprogramming. The Universal Pictures release debuted with $16.3 million, well above recent sales for rom-coms, which have struggled in recent years at the box office. Earlier this month, Universal's R-rated “Bros,” an LGBTQ milestone in the genre, debuted with a disappointing
$4.8 million. “Ticket to Paradise” had a notable advantage in its two stars, and appealed particularly to older audiences; 64 percent of ticket buyers were 35 and up, the studio said.
Last week's top film, “Halloween Ends,” dropped massively in its second weekend. The Universal horror sequel, which was simultaneously released on Peacock, declined 80 percent with $8 million. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures' “Smile,” continued to defy the typical declines for horror releases. With $8.4 million in its fourth week of release, “Smile” came in third and boosted its overall domestic sales to $84.3 million.
As more acclaimed awards contenders land in theaters, Searchlight Pictures' “The Banshees of Inisherin” started its run with one of the best per-theater averages of the year. The Martin McDonagh drama, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, opened with $181,000 in four theaters for a per-theater average of $45,250.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Black Adam,” $67 million.
2. “Ticket to Paradise,” $16.3 million.
3. “Smile,” $8.4 million
4. “Halloween Ends,” $8 million.
5. “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile,” $4.2 million.
6. “The Woman King,” $1.9 million.
7. “Terrifier 2,” $1.9 million.
8. “Don't Worry Darling,” $880,000.
9. “Amsterdam,” $811,000.
10. “Triangle of Sadness,” $600,000.