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I am actually excited because it will apparently be an exploration of the slasher film tropes, particularly the eighties kind of slasher film, which I am all for. So. I am cool with that.

Totally. Same with BvS and CM: BvS had the brand name of Supes and Batman, plus WW's first-ever big-screen appearance and CM had the whole bridge-between-IW-and-EG thing, and the perfect storm at a time when no film brand is hotter than the MCU. Shazam! may be infinitely better than those two movies, but it was never going to be able to compete... Oh, well...I hope that the sequel retains the charming elements of the first, but ramps up the action and visual splendor (and brings in Black Adam!!!!)

You are right. I should have written, "[Shazam! is] the only good, memorable, unforgettable, and totally awesome superhero film released in 2019"... My bad!

Ugh. If the only good and memorable superhero film released in 2019 ends up with a total like that, I have no hope for humanity. I

200 million domestic is happening.

I wonder how Cardi B's charm and goofy personality will translate to film. I really like everything I am seeing about this movie... Oh, and @Napoleon!!!!

I actually agree with both your point and their point. And the end of the day, I feel that Shazam! could have opened higher in another date but I also feel that it is doing tremendously well all things considered, and it will be an easy win for WB regardless...

Exactly! And correct me if I am wrong, but didn't that narrow demo also made Passion of the Christ a 370-million grossing phenomenon in 2004?

I agree. I think that WB knew what they were doing. If they really felt that EG and CM would absolutely kill Shazam!, they would have released it in another date, far away from anything related to IW/EG. But Shazam! will do fine, the WOM seems to be out of this world (look at that Saturday drop), and it has three weeks all to itself before the storm that is about to destroy everything in its path. By the time EG opens, Shazam! will be well in the black, and anything else beyond that will be gravy. And then, I bet the sequel will certainly increase.

That would be a great hold, but I am keeping my fingers crossed for 30-32

Exactly. I also find it odd that any MCU stan would actually dare (yes, dare) point out any lack of originality in any movie. I love me some MCU but damn... Anyway, great Saturday hold for Shazam. And no matter how one slices it, US is a big hit. It is expected that Peele would already get somewhat of a backlash. Everything and everyone that is successful will at some point get accused of being "overrated" and "unoriginal" (and yes, that includes the MCU)... It just comes with the territory of being a big hit...

Say the words: 200 million domestic!!! (pleasse!!!!!!)

Shazam joyless???

It is called different taste...different things appealing to different people. You know what? Some people actually don't get the appeal of horror films or CBMs or whatever film genre is currently in vogue. Many of those films are also considered ridiculous messes, and many people can't fathom how in the heck movies about flying heroes fighting flying villains over possession of a glowy thingie that will save or destroy the world can be such huge hits for so long...and they are not wrong or right. It is just subjective taste. CATS is not your thing, and a film like this is not the thing of many a fanboy who would rather watch "cool" things like intergalactic battles and fantasy worlds. That's all good. However, I am not going to base my assessment of a film I have not even watched a second of footage from on its source material, which is not any more ridiculous that the funnybooks with bright colored-spandex tights and horribly contrived plots and dialohues that all these awesome CBMs are based on.

Yep. Case in point, Captain Middling. But back on topic...I am not sure if Black Widow will gross a billion, but why would it have to in order to be considered a success? Every single MCU film not starring the Hulk has been an all-around hit and has been generally perceived as a hit. And BW will not be the exception (not with everything it has in its favor)... For example, in her recent video GRace Randolph already is generating some idiotic narrative about BW and the whole "Will it gross a billion? Hmm...I don't know about that" or some other BS like that. BW is a more grounded character, and her film won't require the spectacle and scope that usually gets films a billie.

Agreed. It's really weird that in 2019, with so much evidence against that statement, people still trot out the old "X character is not lead-character material; they could never lead a film; they cannot sustain a film" argument. Seriously, people? A character is not lead material until he/she is. All it takes is a decent script, a compelling character combined with the right performer, great marketing, and a story that connects with audiences. None of those things are easy to achieve, but it is incredibly short-sighted to simply dismiss any character as potential leading material due to those outdated beliefs. Remember when people said that about Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Venom, Iron Man, and Captain Marvel?

LOL Remember when people said the same thing about Wonder Woman? Then they made a Wonder Woman film, a really good WW film, and now nobody has any doubt. Bye.

I love this^^^ Totally illuminates how perspective is everything. If any comedy today opened at 52 million, we all would be ooohing and ahhhhing over such a fantastic number. If any superhero film today opened at 52 million, lots of us would be lamenting the 'floppage' of such opening. (Bonus: If an MCU superhero film today opened at 52 million, some of us would be in panic mode, others would be celebrating "the much deserved crumbling of the MCU assembly line" and others would be frantically trying to understand what happened.)

Absolutely. And really, Catwoman is the only DC female character that I would say is as iconic and well known to the GA as Wonder Woman. Yes, I know that Harley is quite popular, but I imagine that she is not the kind of character that even old people would know by name (because she doesn't have as long a history as Diana and Selina, of course). I would definitely love to see Catwoman shining in a solo film, but I have no doubt that whenever they do the latest iteration of Batman, Selina will be somehow involved in a potential sequel at least.

You mean like Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, and Shazam? Because those are the most recent DC films, and only one of them is widely perceived as 'the worse" of anything (Justice League)...

And to think that studios held on for so long to their belief that "audiences are not interested in female superheroes"... Obviously, just like with male superheroes, if you make a decent film, first of all, market it well, and make it an event, superheroine films will evidently succeed. Looking forward to many more movies starring the superladies!!

Is it because of the comedic aspects being more prominent than the action/spectacle element? Is it something about the story itself?

It has been said before, but it bears repeating: Shazam's reviews and CS are fantastic, and all signs point to a potentially solid WOM domestic run, but WB needs to ensure that the sequel gets as big a chance to increase domestic and WW as possible. They need to carefully choose the release date, increase the budget (and punch up the action/spectacle factor) and, please, for the love of Solomon, bring in The Rock/Black Adam for the sequel. Make Shazam 2 do a The Dark Knight on us (although I totally know that something like that will also depend greatly on the quality of the sequel). And for part 3, damn...take a page out of the MCU playbook and bring in a popular superhero from another franchise: Wonder Woman makes sense since both her and Shazam share some Greek deities as part of their origins. The MCU is brilliant when it comes to using all the tools at their disposal to ensure that their solo films sequel box office increase...

I could be wrong, but hasn't it become commonplace for DCEU and MCU to hire directors who are not acquainted with blockbusters to direct these CBMs? If I recall correctly, Whedon had never done a mega-budget blockbuster before The Avengers, and Patty Jenkins had only made one movie --an intimate character study (Monster)-- before Wonder Woman. Ryan Coogler's pre -Black Panther work were two dramas also. I am sure that there are many more examples of that...

If Shazam has indeed been a crucial aspect of why Dumbo dropped this hard, it lends credence to what many of us have been saying for so long: Shazam will be a crowd-pleasing family favorite that will be able to happily coexist with Avengers: Endgame. Obviously, EG will destroy the Billy Batson tale in terms of sheer overall box office, but both films will keep audiences happy with each providing a very different fix of superhero awesomeness.