Latest news with #Shazam!FuryoftheGods
Los Angeles Times
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Superman' is a hit. But DC's work is far from over
DC's comic book movie universe needed a savior, and 'Superman' delivered. The $125-million domestic box office opening for the new movie, written and directed by James Gunn and starring David Corenswet in the title role, hit its target and set up a potentially lucrative future for the DC Studios strategy long in the making from Gunn and his co-chief Peter Safran. With a $225-million production budget, not counting marketing costs and a softer-than-expected international tally ($95 million from outside the U.S. and Canada), the movie has a ways to go before it's profitable. But importantly, the DC gang managed to make a superhero movie that fans actually enjoyed, in contrast to previous efforts including 'The Flash' and 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods.' With 'Superman' now a hit, 2025 is looking more promising as a reset year for the superhero genre as studios try to figure out the right mix and number of tights-wearing tough guys to put in theaters each year. In the last couple of years, studios fielded a slew of low-to-mid-quality superhero films that raised concerns about a simple problem for what had long been Hollywood's most important genre: There were too many of the same kind of movies, and they weren't good enough. With all that happening at once, superhero fatigue was inevitable. With rare exceptions, 2024 became a dumping ground as DC regrouped following its executive shakeup, while parent company Warner Bros. Discovery's chief executive, David Zaslav, promised a 10-year plan. The 'Joker' sequel wasn't really a superhero movie, and it bombed. Sony's 'Madame Web' and 'Kraven the Hunter' tanked as well, while 'Venom: The Last Dance' fell short of its predecessors. Walt Disney Co.-owned Marvel Studios only put out one film, 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' which topped $1 billion in ticket sales. This year has been a mixed bag for Marvel. 'Captain America: Brave New World' struggled with poor reviews and a middling box office performance ($414 million globally), followed by 'Thunderbolts*,' which was a commercial disappointment mitigated by a much warmer audience reception. Marvel's next big swing comes later this month with 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' which analysts say is tracking for an opening of around $100 million in the U.S. and Canada, give or take. 'Fantastic Four' is an important but peculiar property for Marvel. Like Superman for DC, it's a seminal text in comic book history, marking Marvel Comics' first superhero team. But the quartet's story has been notoriously fraught for filmmakers. 20th Century Fox produced three movies featuring the four oddly powered heroes — Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and the Thing. None of those films were good. The 2015 Josh Trank-directed reboot was an especially epic disaster. When Disney acquired Fox in 2019, it gave Marvel President Kevin Feige the coveted keys to some of the brand's most famous properties — among them, the Fantastic Four. Perhaps Feige can succeed where previous attempts failed, as the studio leans into the franchise's retro vibe. Notably, 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' is the last Marvel Cinematic Universe movie on the release calendar for at least a year, until Sony's 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' comes out at the end of July 2026. After that comes 'Avengers: Doomsday' that December. The big studios seem to have absorbed the lesson that audiences' appetites only go so far these days. Gunn, who speaks fans' language as well as anyone in the business, has long been vocal with his diagnosis of what ails the genre. In January 2023, shortly after he and Safran took over the DC unit, he acknowledged that superhero fatigue 'can be real, once the movies start to get repetitive.' He criticized studios for rushing into production with unfinished scripts — a point he repeated during the 'Superman' press tour. Disney CEO Bob Iger has admitted that Marvel got itself in trouble by producing too much too fast, stretching itself thinner than Mister Fantastic to generate box office and Disney+ content. In that spirit, DC Studios isn't flooding the zone. The group's next feature, 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,' starring Milly Alcock, doesn't come out until next summer. For now, 'Superman' is a welcome rebound for DC, having overcome mixed reactions to the early trailers. The political noise about the movie being 'superwoke' was just plain silly. The story is epic but drops the ponderous brooding of the Zack Snyder era. There's humor and chemistry between the two leads, Corenswet's Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane. Worries that there would be too much screen time devoted to Superman's pooch Krypto were overblown. There are DC universe tie-ins, including a cameo from John Cena's Peacemaker, but they're not overly obtrusive. The main hurdle is the international audience, and theories abound for why the results abroad were relatively modest. Could it be that Superman's essential American-ness was a turnoff for international audiences during the divisive Trump era? Maybe it was just a matter of massive competition from movies including 'Jurassic World Rebirth' or the lack of a big global star in the main role. That's all based on analyst hunches. This much is clear: Superman's work isn't done yet, and neither is that of Gunn and Safran. 'Bluey' is still the king of streaming. The beloved Australian kids' cartoon about a family of heeler dogs topped Nielsen's rankings for the first half of 2025, generating 25 billion minutes viewed on Disney+, the TV measurement firm said Monday. 'Bluey's' dominance is easy to explain. The Joe Brumm creation from Queensland's Ludo Studio is the rare kids' program that little ones like mine request all the time without eliciting groans from their parents. Also, there are more than 150 episodes of about seven minutes in length, so it's readily bingeable and rewatchable. Among Nielsen's list of original programs, Netflix's 'Squid Game' ranked highest, thanks to its second season, which premiered late last year on the streamer. It scored 15 billion minutes watched January through June. Netflix had four of the top 10 most-viewed original programs: 'Squid Game,' 'The Night Agent' (No. 3 wtih 12.2 billion minutes), 'Ginny & Georgia' (No. 4, 10.2 billion minutes) and 'You' (No. 9, 8.1 billion minutes). However, other services managed to penetrate the top ranks despite having fewer subscribers. Prime Video's 'Reacher' was No. 2 with 13.3 billion minutes, while the smaller Apple TV+ scored a No. 5 series with 'Severance' (9.3 billion minutes). Paramount+ notched two slots in the top 10, with (no surprise) Taylor Sheridan shows: '1923' (No. 6, 8.5 billion minutes) and 'Landman' (No. 10, 7.8 billion minutes). HBO Max and Hulu got into the ranking with, respectively, 'The Pitt' (No. 7, 8.23 billion minutes, in an impressive haul for a first season) and stalwart 'The Handmaid's Tale' (No. 8, 8.17 billion minutes). In other TV measurement news, Nielsen on Tuesday said broadcast's share of TV viewing fell to 18.5% in June, marking the first time the category has fallen below 20%. Read/watch: Emmy nominations are announced today. How many of your favorites are making the cut? Listen: Rocker Kurt Vile has new music.
Los Angeles Times
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Superman' is back on the big screen. Can it revive DC?
He can outrun a train, hold up a collapsing tower on a fiery oil rig and fly around the world to turn back time. But Superman's greatest challenge might just be saving the DC film franchise. The Warner Bros.-owned superhero brand — one of Hollywood's most important — has hit a rough patch in recent years. Films such as 2023's 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods,' 'The Flash' and last year's 'Joker: Folie à Deux' struggled at the box office. Despite owning a lucrative stable of well-known superheroes like Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, the studio has failed to become a consistent competitor to Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel Studios. Now under the new leadership of filmmaker-producer pair James Gunn and Peter Safran, DC Studios is counting on its new 'Superman' film, hitting theaters Thursday, to revive not only the Man of Steel series but the entire DC universe. Choosing the flying Kryptonian refugee to kick-start DC's new era was a risky bet for Gunn, who wrote and directed the new film. Although Superman is recognizable all over the world, his aw-shucks demeanor and nearly limitless superpowers have made him a tough character to make relevant to today's audiences. His global reputation, as an overgrown godlike Boy Scout spouting American ideals, for years made him less hip for modern viewers than his brooding billionaire vigilante counterpoint, Batman. 'DC has been playing catch-up with Marvel,' said Arlen Schumer, a comic book and pop culture historian. 'They've given James Gunn the keys to the DC kingdom and said, 'You've got to restore Superman. He's our greatest icon, but nobody knows what to do with him. We think you know what to do with him.'' 'Superman' is expected to gross $130 million to $140 million in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend on a reported budget of about $225 million, according to analyst estimates. The movie received an 85% approval rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. (Times critic Amy Nicholson said it wasn't 'quite the heart-soaring 'Superman' I wanted,' but enough to be 'curious to explore where the saga takes him next.') Gunn's efforts on 'Superman' faced intense scrutiny online almost from the moment he started working on it. Fans and critics have picked apart the trailers, grousing about the heavy screen time for Krypto the Superdog (inspired by Gunn's own dog, who is also a foot biter), or how actor David Corenswet, who plays the iconic superhero, is a relative unknown. Warner Bros. itself is counting on 'Superman' to continue a box office rebound stemming from a string of hits including 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Sinners,' 'Final Destination Bloodlines' and 'F1.' Shortly before its release, 'Superman' came under fire from right-wing commentators, who criticized comments Gunn made to the Times of London about how Superman (created by a Jewish writer-artist team in the late 1930s) is an immigrant and that he is 'the story of America.' He's an alien from the planet Krypton, after all. 'I think this is a movie about kindness,' Gunn told Variety on Monday at the film's Hollywood premiere in response to the backlash. 'And I think that's something everyone can relate to.' That appeal is what Warner Bros. and DC Studios are counting on. 'You need a track record of success to build a brand,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. 'This is a monumental moment for DC with one of their biggest characters of all time and that's very important to the box office, to the future of DC and to the perception of DC as a brand.' DC Studios did not respond to requests for comment. This summer's Gunn-directed 'Superman' is the first stand-alone film about the famous hero in more than a decade, following a history of dramatic ups and downs. The 2013 blockbuster 'Man of Steel,' directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, introduced a grittier, darker tone to the superhero's story, including Superman's controversial neck-snapping kill of a villain. 'Man of Steel' received mixed reviews from critics, though it hauled in about $670 million in global box office revenue. That was followed by 2016's 'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice' with Cavill returning and Ben Affleck as Batman, which was panned by critics but made more than $874 million worldwide. Then came the even more reviled 'Justice League' the following year, both a critical and commercial disaster for the studio. Ironically, Cavill's portrayal of Superman was reclaimed by an unruly online fan base demanding that Warner Bros. #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, which it eventually did. For many, the gold standard of Superman films was 1978's 'Superman,' starring Christopher Reeve and directed by Richard Donner. Schumer remembers watching the sweeping wheatfield scene when Clark Kent says goodbye to his adoptive mother after his father's death and embarks on his journey to learn who he truly is. Schumer marveled at the camera sweeping from the golden fields to the blue sky, symbolizing the fledgling Superman's look toward the future. He ended up seeing the movie 10 times in theaters. While 1980's 'Superman II' was still well-received, the third and fourth installments of the franchise 'went off the rails' and became 'campy,' Schumer said. Unlike Marvel, which centralized control under president Kevin Feige, DC and Warner Bros. for years allowed Snyder's vision to determine the direction of the film universe. Batman, on the other hand, has been successfully molded by multiple filmmakers (e.g. Christopher Nolan, Snyder and Matt Reeves), allowing new aspects of the character to shine through, Schumer said. 'DC Comics, [Superman] is your flagship property, but they've often never really treated it like their flagship property,' he said. 'This affected the way DC made movies, versus Marvel.' The studio has also been criticized for its lack of a cohesive vision and framework for its superhero universe, analysts said. The studio allowed its intellectual property to be splintered into parallel storylines, which became chaotic. It's why Gunn and Safran were installed as co-chairmen and co-chief executives of DC Studios in 2022. Gunn seemed a surprising choice to co-run DC Studios. He started as a screenwriter at indie production house Troma Entertainment — known for B horror pictures — and eventually achieved global success in the superhero genre by directing Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' beloved for its irreverent humor. He also had experience with DC, directing 2021's 'The Suicide Squad.' With the pair at the helm, the goal was to standardize the superhero universe and kick-start a new epoch for the studio. 'Superman' is intended to lead off for several upcoming DC movies, including 'Supergirl,' starring Milly Alcock, 'Clayface,' and 'Dynamic Duo' about the Robins — Batman sidekicks Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. 'It's a table setter,' said Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of site Box Office Theory. 'It's really intended to be the launching of an entirely new era for DC movies and where that might lead.' But while Superman has generated toy sales, animated series and multiple movies, the character is hard to get right. Schumer remembers how audiences laughed when Reeve's Superman tells a scoffing Lois Lane that he was fighting for truth, justice and the American way in the 1978 film, at a time when America was reeling from the Watergate scandal and the end of the Vietnam War. 'This idea of truth, justice and the American way was deemed, even back then, hokey,' Schumer said. 'And in a sense, it kind of still is.' From the beginning, Superman has been a quintessential American immigrant story. Two sons of Jewish immigrants, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, introduced the superhero in 1938 in 'Action Comics #1,' which told the tale of the alien, eventually known as Kal-El, who was sent to Earth to escape his dying planet. The comic was 'an overnight smash success' that helped launch the comic book medium and the idea of the superhero, Schumer said. In later stories, Superman's Midwestern upbringing in Smallville, Kansas and his eventual move to the big city of Metropolis also mirrored the journeys many Americans were making during that time. But today, there's questions about whether Superman's strong American symbolism will be a turnoff for global audiences, who have recently bristled at tariffs and trade policies enacted by President Trump. 'That assumption of Superman being a challenging character in some territories is a legitimate factor,' Robbins said. 'What it's going to come down to is the movie itself and how well it connects with international audiences.' One advantage: The film snagged a coveted Imax slot — which can boost box office revenue and make a film more of an 'event.' The movie also comes as the once white-hot market for superhero films has cooled, both domestically and abroad. Even Marvel has recently seen lower box office results for its films — despite critical praise, 'Thunderbolts*' grossed about $382 million worldwide on a budget of $180 million, paling in comparison to past films. The potential for 'Superman' overseas earnings could be big. Forecasts from entertainment industry analytics firm Cinelytic based on publicly available data found that 'Superman' could make about $531 million in global box office revenue, with the top four most likely international markets in Britain, Germany, France and Australia. Gunn brushed off questions about Superman's archetypal American symbolism, telling the Times of London in an interview that his own market research found that international audiences viewed the Man of Steel as a global figure. 'He is a hero for the world,' he said in the interview. But Superman has long-suffered from his lack of flaws and inability to really examine the American ideals he represents, said Annika Hagley, associate dean of the school of social and natural sciences at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, who teaches a course on superheroes and politics. Over time, Superman's advocacy of America has remained constant, despite the evolving perception of the U.S. both at home and abroad, she said. That's in contrast to his Marvel counterpart, the seemingly U.S.-centric Captain America, who evolved from fighting Nazis during World War II to questioning the morality of government surveillance, Hagley said. While Superman's immigrant backstory could lend itself to complex narratives about the treatment of newcomers in the U.S., DC has so far failed to evolve his story to address those questions, she said. He did, however, change his motto to the more borderless 'truth, justice and a better tomorrow' in recent years. As an immigrant in a post-9/11 era, 'Superman is a security threat, but he's also boring,' she said. 'They've tried to make him less American, they tried to make him more alienated and it just hasn't hit home for an audience in the way that the Marvel characters have.' Gunn's 'Superman' does touch on America's role in geopolitics. In a recent trailer for the film, Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane interviews Corenswet's Superman, questioning whether his involvement in a foreign country's conflict and 'seemingly acting as a representative of the United States will cause more problems around the world.' 'I wasn't representing anybody except for me,' he interjects. 'And doing good.'
Buzz Feed
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Zachary Levi Says Politics Affected His Career
You know Zachary Levi — even if you maybe wish you didn't. Zachary has worked steadily since his role as Chuck in, uh, Chuck — if not quite successfully. His last two big projects, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Harold and the Purple Crayon, were critical and commercial disappointments, to say the least. More recently, Zachary has gained attention for his political stances rather than his acting abilities. He endorsed Trump and emerged as a vaccine skeptic, and Broadway legend Laura Benanti came forward to say that she basically hates him in response to all of his public shenanigans. Brutal. Now, Zachary is far from "canceled." He just starred in the faith-based film The Unbreakable Boy and has several projects currently in post-production. He's also currently filming the action film Hotel Tehran. But, as Trump-supporting Hollywood types often do, Zachary is now claiming that his career's been hurt by his political opinions — specifically, in a new profile that Variety recently published. 'I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions. My team has let me know,' he said in the profile, apparently gesturing towards Beverly Hills in conversation. 'They haven't given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it's unfortunate. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually.' Oh well! You can read the entire profile here.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Zachary Levi says certain actors 'prefer not to work' with him after Trump support
Zachary Levi says certain actors 'prefer not to work' with him after Trump support Show Caption Hide Caption Zachary Levi opens up about therapy, role in 'The Unbreakable Boy' Zachary Levi opens up to USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa about his mental health journey and how it informed his role in "The Unbreakable Boy." Zachary Levi is speaking out about how his conservative beliefs have impacted his work in Hollywood. The "Shazam!" star opened up in a Variety story published May 22 about the aftermath of voting for President Donald Trump and his vocal vaccine skepticism. "I know that there are people that would prefer not to work with me now because of my opinions," Levi said. "My team has let me know. They haven't given me any specific names, but there are people who prefer not to work with me at this time. And it's unfortunate. I knew that was probably going to happen. I didn't make this decision blindly or casually." But still, he says some in the film industry are supportive of his views. Zachary Levi doesn't apologize for political stance: 'I am still fighting for all of us' "I know it to be true because I've gotten messages from lots of people who I won't name but who were very grateful to me for taking the stand that I took," Levi said. "They would tell me, 'I want to do that, but I'm so afraid.' And I would tell them, 'Listen, you're on your journey. I'm on my journey." "'You've got to keep trusting God. And if you feel compelled to step out in that way, then do it boldly and know that you're going to be OK. And if you don't feel that conviction yet, then don't," Levi said. "It's all good." Zachary Levi praises left-leaning 'Shazam!' co-star Rachel Zegler The "Chuck" actor is building a $100 million studio in Austin, as his own creative space outside of Hollywood. He said that "AI is about to be the nail in the coffin, and we wonder why LA has become the Detroit of the entertainment industry." Variety said the campus for his Wyldwood Studios will include two 20,000-square-foot amphitheaters, a boutique hotel, cabins and a farm-to-table restaurant on 75 acres along the Colorado River banks. Levi added that "this industry is crumbling around us" and "in order for us to survive, we need to have a space for artists that will foster certified organic human-made content." Rachel Zegler addresses backlash to controversial 'Snow White' comments: 'It made me sad' The "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" actor also spoke out about his fellow controversial co-star Rachel Zegler. Zegler wrote, "May Trump supporters … never know peace" on Instagram after Trump won the 2024 election. Despite their political differences, Levi still praised Zegler during the Variety interview, even though he is "one of those people, obviously." "I think that we have got to recognize that a lot of times people's decisions are predicated upon the bad information that they're being fed on a regular basis," the "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" alum added. "So should I hate her because she's downstream of all of these voices that are telling her that he's Hitler and the people who vote for him are Nazis? She's a really talented girl, and I do think that she wants the best for the world deep down." Zachary Levi shares what he's 'not a fan of' about Donald Trump While Levi voted for Trump, he said, "I was not a fan of Trump's Trumpiness." "I didn't like a lot of these personal things, the ways that he carries himself a lot of the time. I understand people's aversion," Levi told Variety. "Do I think the whole package is somehow perfect? No. In fact, most people who voted for Donald Trump recognize a lot of the imperfections in all of it. Nobody was saying, 'This is the Orange Messiah.'" Khloé Kardashian, Zachary Levi blast California leadership over Los Angeles fires He holds some conservative views, but Levi said he still boasts a liberal streak. "I have conservative views, and I have more liberal views. And one of my more liberal views is that particularly growing up in the arts, I've had gay friends my entire life, and I've never, even within my spirituality, seen it as this thing that we need to be fearful of or scorn or bully or anything," Levi said. "I love my gay friends, my gay community." "Jesus wouldn't bully somebody online or otherwise because they're gay," the actor continued.
Hindustan Times
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
David Sandberg reveals he got death threats from fans for Shazam Fury of the Gods, will never make another IP-based film
Fandoms in superhero universe can be brutal, as director David F Sandberg discovered a couple of years ago. The filmmaker recently revealed that he received death threats from fans after the release of his 2023 film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods. (Also read: Biggest box office bomb of 2024 lost $200 million, was beaten by $2 million indie film, director froze studio out) In an interview with GamesRadar, Sandberg candidly discussed his experience working on the Shazam! sequel and how it has now prevented him from seeking out IP-based projects. The director, known for films like Lights Out, said, 'Fans can get very, very crazy and very angry with you. You can get, like, death threats and everything. So, after Shazam 2, I was like, 'I never wanna do another IP-based movie because it's just not worth it'.' Shazam! Fury of the Gods was a sequel to the 2019 DC hit Shazam! Starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Grace Caroline Currey, Jack Dylan Grazer, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou, and Helen Mirren, the film focused on the titular superhero's fight against the Daughters of Atlas. The film was a critical and commercial failure. It received unfavourable reviews and holds an adverse 49% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. At the box office, it grossed only $134 million worldwide, way below its estimated break-even point. After the sour experience with Shazam, director Sandberg landed on the script of his upcoming movie Until Dawn, which he believes to be a "so good" script to pass. Based on a video game of the same name, the movie stars actors Ella Rubin and Michael Cimino in the lead roles. It is currently in the theatres.
