Dwayne Johnson proclaims Black Adam to be the most powerful superhero in cinema right now.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson raised eyebrows in July when he said that his long-awaited superhero debut in Black Adam would mark the start of a “new era” for the DC Extended Universe. Naturally, questions arose: What did he mean? And what would that mean for the rest of the DCEU’s roster, which includes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the rest of the Justice League, Suicide Squad, Shazam, and others?
“I feel like this is our opportunity now to expand the DC Universe,” Johnson says. “What we have in Black Adam, which I think is cool just as a fan, are we introduce five new superheroes to the world.” (The Justice Society is made up of Aldis Hodge’s Hawkman, Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan’s Doctor Fate.) “A single anti-hero.” (That is DJ’s, Black Adam.)
Box Office:
DC’s New Line Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam grossed $7.6 million in previews at 3,500 locations on Thursday, surpassing the star’s previous preview nights for Fast and Furious 6 ($7.5 million), Hobbs and Shaw ($5.8 million), Jumanji: The Next Level ($4.7 million), San Andreas ($3.1 million), and Rampage ($2.4 million). This is a promising start for Black Adam. Thursday night crowds are always large; let’s hope this trend continues.
While critics are unimpressed (43% Rotten), the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is much higher (88%). The previews started yesterday at 3 p.m.
Other films Black Adam has outperformed include F9 ($7.1 million), Ant-Man ($6.4 million), and Shazam! ($5.9 million), and No Time to Die ($5.6 million).
Furious 7 ($15.8M) and Fate of the Furious ($10.4M) had the two highest preview nights for Johnson.