Black Adam Sets Box Office Bar High

Black Adam is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s passion project

Black Adam is a DC Comics film starring the superhero with the same name, and it seems as if Warner Bros. Discovery is preparing for an incredibly successful opening weekend as critics and film enthusiasts have projected Black Adam as the actor’s biggest box office opening. For more specific numbers, it’s expected to exceed $68.1 million USD in the domestic start and possibly his best solo opening since The Mummy Returns (2001).

As with many films set to release this year and 2023, it was scheduled for 2021 but pushed for this year due to the pandemic. The film will be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani. 

Black Adam is an antihero from the ancient city of Kahndaq, unleashed in modern times after nearly five thousand years of imprisonment. He’s set to become the arch-rival of Shazam, so we’ll have to see how what’ll trigger his start of darkness this time around. 

© DC

Originally, Black Adam would be just the villain for Shazam, though Johnson argued that the character should have his own feature film. More accurately, Black Adam is a spin-off from Shazam, and it’s also being produced by New Line Cinema, DC Films, Seven Bucks Productions, and FlynnPictureCo. 

Fans have stated that they’d rather the anti-hero help the Justice Society of America defeat the bigger evil and kick them out of Khandaq. Black Adam is noted for having a “help my people, screw everyone else” attitude in the comics.

In the past, Johnson had voiced the character in the animated DC League of Super-Pets (2022) in a post-credits cameo appearance, foreshadowing his live-action debut.

Footage from the film was released in February 2022 as part of a showreel for Warner Bros.’ 2022 slate of DC films, including The Batman, The Flash, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. If you’re a DCEU film, you’ll probably know that most of these were delayed until 2023.

Other cast members include Viola Davis as Amanda Waller (Suicide Squad, 2021), Aldis Hodge as Hackman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, and others.

The film already held its world premiere in Mexico City on October 3. It’s also releasing throughout several countries on October 20, a day earlier than its domestic release.

Black Adam will hit the theatres on October 21. 

Watch the trailer for the film here.