Shazam Shazam: Fury of the Gods General News and Discussion Thread

[dhandler01]

It is getting to the point where the fandom for these films are becoming as bad as sports fandom...and honestly that is a big reason I am turned off by sports these days. Attacking people who make a movie is beyond incel pathetic.

 

[jignat]

It was unwise to release this 1 week before the return of John Wick 4.

While that is a R-rated action film, the hype behind it seems more than Shazam 2.

 

[SomeOldGuy]

It was unwise to release this 1 week before the return of John Wick 4.

While that is a R-rated action film, the hype behind it seems more than Shazam 2.

Par for the course. They released the first one three weeks before Endgame. There isn’t a bus in existence WB won’t throw this franchise under.

 

[Detective Conan]

Par for the course. They released the first one three weeks before Endgame. There isn’t a bus in existence WB won’t throw this franchise under.

I have to wonder what would’ve been a good release month for this film.

 

[The Caped Knight]

It was unwise to release this 1 week before the return of John Wick 4.

While that is a R-rated action film, the hype behind it seems more than Shazam 2.

The marketing for Shazam was nonexistent in comparison to John Wick, heck Super Mario bros has more press than Fury of the Gods. Man Dwayne Johnson really screwed over Zac big time.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

One a more positive note, Sandberg seems to be happy that he's now out of the superhero game.

One thing I’ve really been looking forward to is disconnecting from the superhero discourse online. A lot of that stresses me out so much and it will be nice not having to think about that anymore.

Any film maker coming into any superhero franchise has to be ready for that. Not saying Sandberg wasn't, just saying that it's something you have to steel yourself for.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Wow.

 

[Iceman]

Any film maker coming into any superhero franchise has to be ready for that. Not saying Sandberg wasn't, just saying that it's something you have to steel yourself for.

Yeah, any hardcore fan property is unlikely to be smooth sailing on that front, very hard to please everyone.

 

[J.Drangal]

So, with film not being released in Germany and France until 3/29/23, the four people interested in the film ( ) will only have to wait 2 more weeks to get it in high quality in the usual places...

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As far as marketing presence goes, it seemed fine to me. I don't go on social media much, I don't watch much TV either and I have an ad blocker on YouTube... Yet, I saw ads on pretty much all of these media.
I was surprised, especially on television. We don't have dedicated TV spot for movies over here, but this second Shazam still had some presence thanks to various partnerships with other products.

So, like other, I don't think maketing was a problem. I simply believe the first film, despite positive feedback, just didn't create a real following. There was no expectation and so, when came some iffy trailers, and then mixed critics, the whole thing was pretty much doomed.

Also, I'm very tempted to say that Shazam isn't really a unifying character from the start.
I understand that he's more than an erzatz Superman, but I don't think his target/potential audience is on the same level as other superheroes with a more unique shtick.
Sure, that doesn't mean the character shouldn't be adapted but in a context where people are slowly turning away from the genre, it's no surprise this kind of heros are the firsts to suffer, regardless of the quality of the movie.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Ooof

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

What a mess. Makes Dwayne look like a bit of an ass, to be honest.

 

[Iceman]

What a mess. Makes Dwayne look like a bit of an ass, to be honest.

Pushing for this level of control and interference (probably used to that from WWE ) would annoy me with any actor. He certainly doesn’t come off well from this. Kind of glad he’s out.

 

[J.Drangal]

What a mess. Makes Dwayne look like a bit of an ass, to be honest.

Always had to me. I never understand the hype around him.
Also never believed in his fake modesty.
I've only saw two movies with him and it was hell (Baywatch and Jumanji :"look how they massacred my boy" Welcome to the Jungle).

One of the few celebrities I have a weird hate ***** for.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Eh, he works in the right roles. Jumanji he’s actually pretty great cause he’s playing against type, basically his version of Shazam.

But I don’t understand this. He’s such a big fan of the Black Adam character, he’d know how important he is to Shazam.

If he wanted to fight Superman so bad why didn’t he just ask to be Lex Luthor in a spin-off lol

 

[Prison Mike]

Nobody would care about this if Shazam 2 didn’t bomb so hard. Even if it is true, people aren’t going to rush to the theaters for some cameos.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Eh, he works in the right roles. Jumanji he’s actually pretty great cause he’s playing against type, basically his version of Shazam.

But I don’t understand this. He’s such a big fan of the Black Adam character, he’d know how important he is to Shazam.

If he wanted to fight Superman so bad why didn’t he just ask to be Lex Luthor in a spin-off lol

Rock approached his DC stay like a pro wrestler where all he cared about was fighting the "top guy" so he could make the most money. He wanted it to be all about him and his brand. He didn't actually care about playing Black Adam beyond it being a vanity project.

 

[C. Lee]

Wow, the news on S2 just goes from bad to worse. I didn't expect the box office to be great, but didn't expect this either. It also makes me wonder...would Gunn have been more receptive of continuing to use Cavill if the Rock hadn't been so pushy about him.

 

[Mani-Man]

Rock approached his DC stay like a pro wrestler where all he cared about was fighting the "top guy" so he could make the most money. He wanted it to be all about him and his brand. He didn't actually care about playing Black Adam beyond it being a vanity project.

Which as i said in the other thread...baffles me because even late in his career he had no problem putting over smaller guys and new blood.
He was willing to elevate people to push them to the top spot, even if it meant him losing.

Anyway...sad to see this all.
The Movie, the Cast deserves better than this mess and the Behind the Scenes Drama.

 

[Vader's Fist]

Saw the movie yesterday. Honestly, the reviews and box office would have you think it was Green Lantern or Fant4stic Four, but I've seen worse superhero movies. Don't get me wrong, it's no Spider-Man 2 or Dark Knight, but I had an enjoyable enough time. I honestly think the superhero bubble has simply just burst and apathy towards the genre has finally set in (in my opinion, what really tipped it over the edge was the pandemic), which also makes me think DC might be choosing the wrong time to finally get their act together.

 

[The Caped Knight]

What a mess. Makes Dwayne look like a bit of an ass, to be honest.

Unfortunately this kinda paints him as exactly as Vin Diesel said regarding Fast X, the guys ego is massive and he doesn’t play well with others at all.

 

[dhandler01]

Which as i said in the other thread...baffles me because even late in his career he had no problem putting over smaller guys and new blood.
He was willing to elevate people to push them to the top spot, even if it meant him losing.

Anyway...sad to see this all.
The Movie, the Cast deserves better than this mess and the Behind the Scenes Drama.

Its easy to do that when you had your run and make massive dollars. Most old timers do that despite what morons like Dave Meltzer say.

That doesn't mean he isnt a raving egomaniac.

 

[Iceman]

Unfortunately this kinda paints him as exactly as Vin Diesel said regarding Fast X, the guys ego is massive and he doesn’t play well with others at all.

Yeah, I’d thought Vin was as much to blame but this recent stuff is a big PR blow for the Rock amongst CBM fans and certainly suggests much of the troubles were linked to this uncontrollable ego and desire to control things.

 

[samsnee]

Everyone saying there was no marketing for this thing but the marketing budget alone was $100M. Where did it all go?

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Everyone saying there was no marketing for this thing but the marketing budget alone was $100M. Where did it all go?

Jennifer Holland's botox budget.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Everyone saying there was no marketing for this thing but the marketing budget alone was $100M. Where did it all go?

It clearly went to making generic trailers and TV spots that in no way actually sold the film. They might as well have thrown the money into the Indian Ocean.

I think this twitter thread really explains how the marketing failed this movie.