How ‘Shazam 2’ Connects to the Larger DC Universe: Cameos, Credits Scenes and More

Shazam: Fury of the Gods might have debuted at No. 1 at the box office this weekend, but it fell short of expectations.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Shazam wasn’t the magic word at the weekend box office. “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” opened to No. 1 in North America, but the Warner Bros. and DC Comics sequel fell short of expectations with its disappointing $30.5 million debut from 4,071 theaters. Heading into the weekend, the film was expected to collect $35 million to $40 million, which already wasn’t all that spectacular since it cost north of $110 million to make and another $100 millions more to market. It’s a substantial drop from 2019’s “Shazam,” the first comic book installment starring Zachary Levi’s quirky hero, which opened to $53.5 million and ended its box office run with $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. It’s also one of the worst starts in the DC Cinematic Universe, other than pandemic-era releases like “Wonder Woman 1984” ($16.7 million) and “The Suicide Squad” ($26 million), which both opened simultaneously on HBO Max.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” currently playing in theaters. Zachary Levi returns as Billy Baston/Shazam in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” In the DC superhero sequel, a trio of vindictive sorceresses called the Daughters of Atlas — led by Helen Mirren as Hespera, Lucy Liu as Kalypso and Rachel Zegler as Anthea — want to avenge their father and take back the power of the gods they believe was stolen from Shazam and his crew. David F. Sandberg directs and, in true superhero style, peppers easter eggs throughout the film for the most eagle-eyed superhero fans.

J. Kim Murphy “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is thundering to a No. 1 opening at the box office, though the DC Comics adaptation is expected to fly in lower than its predecessor. “Fury of the Gods” grossed $11.7 million in opening day ticket sales, a figure that includes $3.4 million in Thursday previews. That’s almost half of the $20.3 million that the 2019 original earned in its first day of release, on its way to a $53 million bow. “Fury of the Gods” carries a production budget of $125 million, which is $25 million higher than its predecessor’s. Opening in 4,071 theaters, the superhero sequel will likely struggle to reach a $30 million debut. With DC Studios under the newly minted leadership of Peter Safran and James Gunn, “Shazam! 2” represents somewhat of a relic of a bygone regime for the comic book banner. While a film like “The Flash” was also conceived before Safran and Gunn’s tenure, the pair of CEOs have often declared their conviction in the quality of the upcoming Ezra Miller film. Chatter around the “Shazam!” sequel has been much quieter.

Zachary Levi is responding to commentary surrounding the end credits scenes in Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” — the direct sequel to 2019’s “Shazam” and the twelfth entry in the DC Extended Universe — premieres this week.Zachary Levi returns as the brawny superhero, who possesses “the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury.”Asher Angel plays his human counterpart Billy Batson. Along with his foster siblings and their superhero counterparts, Shazam once again must save the world, this time from the Daughters of Atlas: Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Anthea (Rachel Zegler).Everything you need to know about when, where and how to watch “Shazam 2” below.“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” opens in theaters internationally beginning March 15, 2023 and in North America on March 17, 2023.“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is currently only in theaters.

the world saw “Black Adam” and was fully convinced that the movie was as low as DC Comics could possibly go, here comes “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” to outdo it in the limbo line of awfulness.We’re talking about a film in which the sentence “The most powerful thing about you… is you!” is uttered twice.A film with a character named Steve, who is an all-knowing, enchanted pen.Zero stars. Running time: 130 minutes.

Jordan Moreau The “Fury of the Gods” may not be all that furious. Warner Bros. and DC’s “Shazam” sequel is taking flight with $3.4 million at the domestic box office in Thursday previews, behind the original movie’s preview haul in 2019. The sequel to Zachary Levi’s superhero movie will land with a smaller opening than its predecessor. The first “Shazam” movie had $5.9 million in Thursday previews before opening with $53.5 million in April 2019. It went on to gross $140 million domestically and $366 million globally. However, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” is only expected to bring in $35 million to $40 million. Each of the “Shazam” movies cost $100 million to produce, but that’s a significant drop from the original.

DC superhero outing Shazam! Fury Of The Gods hits cinemas this month.Directed by David F. Sandberg (Lights Out), the sequel sees Billy Batson (Asher Angel) and his foster siblings transform into superheroes once again to take on a new threat in the Daughters of Atlas.Zachary Levi returns as the super-charged alter-ego of Billy, aka Shazam.

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods arrives during a turbulent new age for DC Studios.After James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-CEOs at DC Studios last year, a number of planned projects have been shelved or cancelled entirely – including Henry Cavill’s return as Superman, Wonder Woman 3, and a sequel to Black Adam.As such, Zachary Levi’s Shazam is another which could potentially be cut from DC’s future following sequel Shazam! Fury Of The Gods – while others like Ezra Miller’s The Flash and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman have also yet to be addressed.The future of Shazam has yet to be decided, although a sequel isn’t out of the realms of possibility.Speaking to Deadline, Levi has expressed his interest in returning to the role: “Trust me, wherever they say, we want you to be Shazam in this thing, I’d be like, ‘Great, let’s go. I’ll do that.’”He added: “I do know that Peter [Safran], who I’ve known for years, and James [Gunn] who I’ve even known longer, are really excellent leaders.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the second movie in DC’s Shazam franchise, is now in theaters and it’s expected to debut at the top of the box office charts this weekend.

One of the things that made “Shazam!” so engaging, entertaining, and different was that it brought humor, an endearing irreverence, and an exploration and development of character that satisfied the initiated but also drew in the unfamiliar. It felt natural, full of vigor, and inspired.

A small snippet from Rachel Zegler‘s red carpet interview is going viral and fans are actually praising her for her honesty.

Helen Mirren turned her latest premiere into a family affair. At Tuesday night's premiere of her upcoming film, "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," Mirren walked the red carpet alongside her young grandson Basil.The two made their way down the red carpet hand in hand and posed for pictures.  Mirren wore a floor length black gown with lace over the front and on the arms, and Basil wore a blue button down shirt with black jeans.  While the "1923" star doesn't have any children of her own, she is very close with her husband Taylor Hackford's two children, her stepsons Rio and Alexander Hackford.

The Shazamily is back, and on a much larger scale, but at its heart this superhero saga is still about family, and that’s the good thing here.

In the pantheon of DC superhero movies, David F. Sandberg’s “Shazam!” still stands out as something special: an emotional, character-driven film with good humor and an actual point to make that never let flashy spectacle get in the way of telling a wonderful, personal story.It would be nice to report that the sequel, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” follows in that tradition.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Why did they give Zachary Levi a haircut for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”? Four years ago, in the first “Shazam,” Levi played a kid in a superhero’s body, and the movie was smart and witty enough to be a caped version of “Big.” Levi’s look was a major part of it. Shazam, with that cheesy lightning bolt and gold belt and white Italian-restaurant tablecloth of a cape, didn’t resemble other recent comic-book-film heroes; he was more like something out of the ’40s. And Levi sealed the deal was his big popping eyes and ingenuous gee-whiz grin (he was, after all, playing a 14-year-old inside), as well as the hair that topped off his boyish spirit. It was dark and shiny and stood up an inch-and-a-half from his head — a ‘do as superhero stylized, in its way, as the old Superman’s.

Carla Renata For the first time in more than two years, the cast of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” reunited for the red carpet premiere of their insanely action-packed sequel. Complete with an arcade of pinball machines, video games, cornhole, lightning bolt photo ops and a Skittles bouncy house, the pre-party was pure unadulterated joy. While director David F. Sandberg couldn’t join due to Covid, returning cast members Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, D.J. Cotona, Grace Caroline Currey, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews, Djimon Hounsou and newbies Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren walked the rain-soaked carpet.

Adam Brody and wife Leighton Meester were all smiles as they shined on the red carpet at the premiere of on Tuesday.Brody rocked a blue suit and a white button-down shirt, sans tie, while Meester shimmered in a metallic copper-colored gown as they posed for photos outside the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles.Brody stopped to chat with ET's Ash Crossan, and opened up about the fun outing, while also playfully joking about his wife's stylish bangs.«It's bang night!» Brody said with a laugh. Although he himself has no plans on getting bangs, for the most adorable reason.«She has an identical haircut to our daughter, and I have an identical haircut to my son right now,» Brody said.

Superheroism is serious business, or at least that’s what the rubble-colored glower-fests clogging cineplexes these days would have us believe. But director David F.