Shazam! had a $159.1 million debut, which considering its $150 million cost (fairly modest for a superhero film) is pretty darn good. It also has a 91% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and an 89% audience score indicating that it has been a hit with critics and viewers. Shazam! is expected to continue as #1 in its second weekend box office with newcomers Hellboy (a comic book-based reboot) and Little (a comedy) duking it out for second place. Animated newcomer Missing Link is expected to compete with horror remakePet Sematary for the final positions in the top five.
This is all good enough that the wheels are already turning on crafting a sequel. Screenwriter Henry Gayden, who wrote the current film, already has a deal to write a sequel. There is no news as yet but hopes are that director David S. Sandberg and producer Peter Safran would also return. The original cast would also be expected to appear in any sequel.
Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam film should start filming next year, Johnson teased in an Instagram post in which he congratulated Shazam! on its box office success. A standalone Black Adam origin film would pave the way for a possible crossover between Shazam and Black Adam in a future movie. Whether that would be Shazam! 2 or some other film is up in the air. The mid-credits scene in Shazam! hinted at a possible alternate villain for a sequel. Rumors about the Black Adam movie have teased the appearance of the Justice Society of America, so maybe Black Adam will appear as a comrade instead of a villain in a Shazam! sequel.
