‘Shazam!’ remains top hero at theaters
Two superheroes, both alike in not taking themselves too seriously, had very different experiences at the box office this weekend.
Warner Bros.’ “Shazam!” made $25.1 million domestically, a solid sum that kept it in first place after a strong debut last weekend.
That PG-13 film centers on a teenager (Asher Angel) who can transform into a hero with an adult body (Zachary Levi) by speaking the word “shazam.” Based on a DC Comics character, ‘Shazam!” has a jaunty and lighthearted tone, and its continued box-office success provides further evidence of the success of Warner Bros.’ shift away from the dark mood of “Suicide Squad” and “Justice League.”
“Shazam!” picked up an additional $35.9 million outside North America this weekend, according to Warner Bros., which brings the film’s worldwide gross to $258.8 million. That’s more than double the roughly $100 million the movie cost to make.
But a mix of wisecracks and superpowers is no guarantee of success, as evidenced by another new movie: Lionsgate’s “Hellboy,” financed by Millennium Media.
That film, a bloody, Rrated affair with a cherryred, semi demonic superhero (David Harbour) at its helm, landed in third place with a dreary $12 million in North American theaters this weekend, well below analysts’ expectations. A reboot of the Guillermo del Toro movies (themselves based on comic books by Mike Mignola), the new “Hellboy” was directed by Neil Marshall. It had a production budget of $50 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
More successful was Universal’s “Little,” which landed in second place with $15.5 million, according to Comscore, which compiles box-office data.
“Little,” a comedy directed by Tina Gordon, is like “Shazam!” in reverse: The story is about an adult CEO (Regina Hall) who gets transformed into her 13-year-old self (Marsai Martin).
Paramount’s “Pet Sematary,” based on the novel by Stephen King, came in fourth place with $10 million domestically.