Zachary Levi links ‘Shazam 2’ box office failure to Warner Bros marketing: ‘Simply a shame’

This past weekend has been a tough one for Zachary Levi as his latest film, Shazam!: Wrath of the Gods, was released by Warner Bros. and New Line and grossed $30.5 million at the box office, a significant drop from $53.5 million. launch of the first Shazam! made four years ago.

Levy, who is very active with his fans on Twitter, responded to several tweets sent to him about the issues his sequel is facing and felt that the marketing campaign that Warner Bros. launched for “Shazam 2”, did not help.

“It’s the perfect family movie, but a lot of families don’t know about it. It’s just a shame.” Levy tweeted Tuesday.

The family’s turnout was a major reason for the success of the first Shazam!, which grossed $365 million worldwide in 2019. The film’s story is about teenage orphan Billy Batson who becomes a superhero and receives guidance from a superhero-loving adoptive family. the companion captivated audiences with his light-hearted antics between the main characters and a touching family message.

But Shazam!: Wrath of the Gods didn’t receive such a strong reception, with a lukewarm 53% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the sequel sees Billy fight a new supernatural threat alongside his siblings, who now share his superpowers, the trailers for the film showed only a few group shots of Shazam alongside his adoptive family, which focused more on the hero fighting with the villainous Daughters of Atlas. on one’s own.

Another likely factor in the box office fight is the ongoing reboot that new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran are planning for a 2025 launch. This reboot has left the DC movies approved by previous studio management – with the possible exception of “The Flash” – to many moviegoers it seems like the remnants of a blockbuster saga that no longer continues.

The direction of DC’s future has been hotly contested among its fans, supporters of director Zack Snyder and his HBO Max version of Justice League still carry the torch. While exchanging tweets with his followers, Levy said that he “has no problem with Snyder fans” and that he has seen many of the DC director’s blockbusters.

But when a follower noticed that some Snyder fans were rooting for Shazam 2 to fail at the box office because of Warner Bros. The decision to reboot the DC actor said it was “sad but true”.

“My problem is with anyone who wants to destroy something just because it’s not what they want. It comes from hate, not from love.” Levy tweeted.