NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Warner Bros.' 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.
鈥淏lack Adam鈥� 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 Still, 鈥淏lack Adam鈥� managed the highest opening weekend since 鈥淭hor: Love and Thunder鈥�
鈥淏lack Adam,鈥� which stars Johnson as an ancient Egyptian summoned to the modern day, was notably hobbled by poor reviews (40% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). Moviegoers were kinder, giving the film a B+ CinemaScore. It collected $73 million internationally for a $140 million global haul.
鈥淏lack Adam鈥� took a circuitous route to reach theaters. The character had originally been planned to launch as a villain in before executives pivoted to give Black Adam a standalone feature. The goofier 鈥淪hazam!,鈥� which cost closer to $100 million to make, opened with $53.5 million in ticket sales and wound up an over-achieving success with $366 million worldwide.
The stakes were higher for 鈥淏lack Adam,鈥� though. While promoting the film, Johnson hasn't been shy about his desire to follow up 鈥淏lack Adam鈥� with a showdown with Superman. But whether the receipts for 鈥淏lack Adam鈥� are enough to warrant that remains unclear. Under new leadership, Warner Bros. is overhauling its approach to DC Comics adaptations.
Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., celebrated the results as a personal best for Johnson outside of the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� films, and a PG-13 film with broad-based appeal that audiences responded to better than critics. Still, it's a time of transition for Warner Bros.' reorganizing DC unit as the studio seeks more Marvel-sized successes. Next on tap is 鈥淪hazam! Fury of the Gods鈥� in March.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about making good movies. It鈥檚 all about finding the right scripts,鈥� said Goldstein. "Our studio is definitely going through a major revamping of our production leadership and style and approach. I think that we鈥檒l be able to crack this nut. We鈥檙e definitely focused in on doing that."
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. The film is already a hit abroad, where it's been in release for the last month, accruing $80.2 million in ticket sales.
Earlier this month, Universal's R-rated 鈥淏ros,鈥� debuted with a disappointing $4.8 million. 鈥淭icket to Paradise鈥� had a notable advantage in its two stars, and appealed particularly to older audiences; 64% of ticket buyers were 35 and up, the studio said.
鈥淚t became an event film for all audiences this weekend but especially for older audiences that can be difficult to get into theaters,鈥� said Jim Orr, head of distribution for Universal. 鈥淲e all know this is a demographic group that doesn't exactly run out to see films opening weekend. That gives us great encouragement for the weeks and months ahead.鈥�
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, noted it was the first weekend with a $65 million opener and more than $100 million in overall domestic ticket sales since July. That was owed largely to star power, he said, in the appeal of both 鈥淭icket to Paradise" and 鈥淏lack Adam鈥� with Johnson.
鈥淗e was the engine that really drove this box office despite some headwinds in terms of the DC brand and this not being as known a character,鈥� said Dergarabedian. 鈥淭his is a very strong starting point for Dwayne Johnson in the mix of DC Comics. He's like a box-office supercharger. Forty-percent Rotten Tomatoes, but people just want to see Dwayne Johnson on the big screen because he is bigger than life.鈥�
Last week's top film, 鈥淗alloween Ends,鈥� dropped massively in its second weekend. The Universal horror sequel, which was simultaneously released on Peacock, declined 80% with $8 million. Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures' 鈥淪mile,鈥� continued to defy the typical declines for horror releases. With $8.4 million in its fourth week of release, 鈥淪mile鈥� came in third and boosted its overall domestic sales to $84.3 million.
As more acclaimed awards contenders land in theaters, Searchlight Pictures' 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin鈥� started its run with one of the best per-theater averages of the year. The opened with $181,000 in four theaters for a per-theater average of $45,250. For A24, starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio as a father and daughter on vacation, also debuted solidly in four theaters, with a $16,589 per-theater average.
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. 鈥淭icket to Paradise,鈥� $16.3 million.
3. 鈥淪mile,鈥� $8.4 million
4. 鈥淗alloween Ends,鈥� $8 million.
5. 鈥淟yle, Lyle Crocodile," $4.2 million.
6. 鈥淭he Woman King,鈥� $1.9 million.
7. 鈥淭errifier 2,鈥� $1.9 million.
8. 鈥淒on't Worry Darling,鈥� $880,000.
9. 鈥淎msterdam,鈥� $811,000.
10. 鈥淭riangle of Sadness,鈥� $600,000.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
