(Observer Network News) Opening weekend, Hollywood's latest blockbuster, Warner Bros.'s DC movie "Thunder Shazam! Wrath of the Gods (hereinafter referred to as "Shazam 2") box office and word of mouth were both less than expected, and the director of the film was directly depressed by bad reviews and decided to temporarily bid farewell to superhero movies.
On March 21, Beijing time, Swedish director David David F. Sandberg lamented on Twitter, saying that he did not expect that the movie with the highest audience rating and the lowest rating from film critics on Rotten Tomatoes was the same, and he thought that "Shazam 2" was a masterpiece, but film critics disliked it so much. "After 6 years of filming "Shazam", I don't want to make superhero movies anymore."
As a unique and funny hero in the DC Universe, "Shazam" received a global box office of 366 million US dollars (about 2.516 billion yuan) when it first appeared in 2019, of which the Chinese mainland box office was 294 million yuan. This result is not impressive, but it is passable, and it also makes Warner willing to start the original cast and make a sequel.
On March 17 this year, "Shazam 2" premiered, which brought together movie stars such as Zachary Levy, Arthur Anqi, Liu Yuling, Helen Mirren, and the controversial Latino actor Rachel Zeegler for playing Disney's live-action "Snow White".
Embarrassingly, this superhero sequel, which Warner had no high hopes for, performed worse than the industry expected. In the first weekend, the industry predicted that the US box office was $35 million, but the actual result was only $30.5 million.
According to the American entertainment media Variety, "Shazam 2" cost $110 million to produce and $100 million to publicize. According to the industry's general belief that the box office will cost at least three times the cost to return the cost, the results of the first weekend may not make Warner and DC Comics laugh after watching it.
The box office hit the street, and word of mouth also collapsed. Although "Shazam 2" received an audience rating of 87 on Rotten Tomatoes, critics only scored a failing score of 53, far less than the 90 points achieved by the first "Shazam". On Douban, the two films are half a pound and eight taels, the previous work is 6.2, and the sequel is 6.1.
Coincidentally, the results on Rotten Tomatoes refreshed the lowest score of Rotten Tomatoes film critics in the film's director Sandberg's personal work. On his personal homepage, the critic ratings of two "Shazam" films are very conspicuous, one is its highest record and the other is its lowest record. In contrast, "Shazam 2" has a higher audience rating (87) than the first (82).
In this regard, Sandberg sent a number of tweets on the 21st to express his distress, first ridiculing himself: "I just relied on the same work to refresh my own lowest score for film critics and the highest score for audiences on the Rotten Tomatoes website." I didn't expect the sequel to have the same reputation as the first "Shazam", but I was still a little surprised, because I think "Shazam 2" is a good movie. Well, okay. ”
He later added: "As I've always said, I really want to go back and make horror movies (and try something new). After 6 years of filming "Shazam", I don't want to make superhero movies anymore. ”
After announcing the connection with the superhero movie, Sandberg did not give up the struggle and said two good words for "Shazam". He said he didn't regret making the Shazam series, learned a lot from it, and was grateful to be lucky enough to work with great people. "These experiences were very challenging and rewarding."
Finally, he added: "The thing I've always been looking forward to is staying away from online superhero discussions, and that kind of content makes me very stressed, and it feels a lot better not to have to think about it." ”
Before starting directing his first Shazam in 2017, Sandberg had made two popular horror films: After the Lights Off (2016) and Annabelle 2: Birth (2017).
To add insult to injury, "Shazam 2" in addition to the quality of the film itself has been questioned, Rachel Ziegler, one of the film's leading actors, was also caught in the "discrimination against Asians" controversy during the promotion period. At present, the film's Chinese mainland box office is 33.48 million yuan.
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