SHAZAM! The World's Mightiest Movie!

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Well, Newsarama finally did their review on it. It was very positive!

https://www.newsarama.com/44605-revi...to-resist.html

Now, let's see if CBR can do a review before we all see it tomorrow.

Or will some of you be seeing it tonight in early previews?

[stargazer01]

funny review. It really seems that this movie biggest strength is the heart and the humor. Kids will want to pretend play that they are Shazam.

[Cyke]

One thing I want to note, and this, I think, really helps with both the kid appeal and the wish-fulfillment angle: Billy and Shazam's personalities are diametrically opposite, and it's played off wonderfully here. There's a whole range of emotions from, when you think about it, just one character, and it really speaks well to how hard it is to be a kid and how much we try to look for joy.

[trooper_thorn]

There seems to be a domestic/international split on this developing with domestic reviews being quite good (RT having a 93% for all reviews and 94% for top critics with the average ratings being 7.43 and 7.01 respectively) and international reviews/ticket sales ranging from poor to awful.

I get the feeling this is going to be a standard case of comedy not travelling well.

Sadly this movie will probably struggle to break even despite probably being one of the best superhero movies in recent memory.

[Jim Kelly]

Finally saw it. It's been a real bother in the last few weeks avoiding all the threads about this movie and all the internet reviews. It's nice for those folks who get to see the movie early, but for the rest of us it's a pain. And I wonder, with all the reviews coming out so long ago--two weeks ago--does that let the hype die down too soon for when most of us can actually see the film.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

There seems to be a domestic/international split on this developing with domestic reviews being quite good (RT having a 93% for all reviews and 94% for top critics with the average ratings being 7.43 and 7.01 respectively) and international reviews/ticket sales ranging from poor to awful.

I get the feeling this is going to be a standard case of comedy not travelling well.

Sadly this movie will probably struggle to break even despite probably being one of the best superhero movies in recent memory.

Wow, really? In terms of the UK, Empire Magazine gave it a very good review and I just heard Mark Kermode say that he really liked it, though it was a bit too long. Robbie Collin from the Telegraph also liked it a lot, as did Total Film. The Observer and the Guardian were less enthused but the Observer was the only one to give it a genune bad review. The rest range from good to damn good.

I also know for a fact that most South African critics really liked/ loved it.

Or do you mean the non-English markets? Because, yeah, comedy is a bit more of an issue in that case but I haven't seen any aggragate of say, Chinese or German reviews so who knows?

[trooper_thorn]

Or do you mean the non-English markets? Because, yeah, comedy is a bit more of an issue in that case but I haven't seen any aggragate of say, Chinese or German reviews so who knows?

Yeah, that'd probably have been a better way to put it.

I'm getting most of my numbers from r/boxoffice which has China opening to $34M and a $45M-50M opening in the US.

[trooper_thorn]

On a hopeful note somebody pointed out that this appears to be performing more akin to a family friendly film than a standard superhero flick, which is to say that it may not open huge but will likely have long legs.

[BeastieRunner]

On a hopeful note somebody pointed out that this appears to be performing more akin to a family friendly film than a standard superhero flick, which is to say that it may not open huge but will likely have long legs.

It's projected to do about ~$50-$55M.

It's got $9M in the bank already which is about Ant-Man levels.

[Jim Kelly]

What does a DC movie have to do to get a bigger opening? I don't get it. If SHAZAM! makes less than $70 million on its opening weekend, with all its positives, then I don't understand what audiences are looking for. The hatred for DC must be really real if they can't get people to come to their movies on the first weekend.

By the way, this movie just shows the DC logo--it doesn't have that big shot of all the characters. Maybe that's because it's New Line. But since even DOOM PATROL has that big DC panorama before each episode, I would have thought it would appear before SHAZAM!

[Jokerz79]

Easily my favorite DCEU film.

[BeastieRunner]

What does a DC movie have to do to get a bigger opening? I don't get it. If SHAZAM! makes less than $70 million on its opening weekend, with all its positives, then I don't understand what audiences are looking for. The hatred for DC must be really real if they can't get people to come to their movies on the first weekend.

By the way, this movie just shows the DC logo--it doesn't have that big shot of all the characters. Maybe that's because it's New Line. But since even DOOM PATROL has that big DC panorama before each episode, I would have thought it would appear before SHAZAM!

I love DC.

I don't think it's about hatred.

It's about demonstrating consistent, fun movies.

If the current trend continues, DC will get the same level of instant support Marvel enjoys.

For me, most of the modern DC movies don't look enjoyable to watch.

[Gaastra]

We are planning to go see it Saturday. Movie looks great from the trailers. Can't wait.

[anyajenkins]

Ok, so i’m The designated nerd in the family/neighborhood and am fielding questions about if this movie is ‘younger kid friendly’ (like under eight). The previews make it look good for littler kids, but are there any ‘scary’ and or ‘adult’ parts that parents should look out for?

[Cyke]

Ok, so i’m The designated nerd in the family/neighborhood and am fielding questions about if this movie is ‘younger kid friendly’ (like under eight). The previews make it look good for littler kids, but are there any ‘scary’ and or ‘adult’ parts that parents should look out for?

The Sins are definitely creepy and, thanks to CGI, they're more articulated/creepier/gross than most movie monsters for a PG-13 movie. There is also a decent amount of murder and death (though not nearly as much as other DCEU movies).

From a more normal standpoint, there are scenes of bullying and topics about adoption/family separation/what really makes up a family that smaller kids might want to talk about, which is only fair and educational.