Dwayne Johnson’s superhero adventure “Black Adam” racked up $140 million in its global box office debut, including a mighty $73 million overseas.
Warner Bros. reports that “Black Adam,” which debuted in 76 territories, is the No. 1 film in nearly every market. Outside of North America, where “Black Adam” also captured the No. 1 spot with $67 million, the top-grossing markets were the United Kingdom with $6.1 million, Mexico with $5.3 million, Brazil with $4.9 million, Australia with $4.7 million and France with $3.7 million. In comparable markets and using today’s exchange rates, ticket sales for “Black Adam” are tracking 27% ahead of those for 2019’s “Shazam!,” another DC superhero origin story. “Shazam,” which cost $100 million, tapped out with $366 million globally.
Warner Bros. spent $195 million to produce “Black Adam,” so the comic book adaptation needs to keep playing on the big screen for some time to justify its mighty price tag. Though it has generated weak reviews, audiences seem to like the film, which landed a “B+” CinemaScore in the U.S.
Jaume Collet-Serra directed “Black Adam,” in which Johnson plays an antihero who is unleashed into modern times after nearly 5,000 years of imprisonment. His baddie tendencies attract the attention of the Justice Society of America, whose members consist of Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), who try to teach him to be a good guy.
Elsewhere, Universal’s romantic comedy “Ticket to Paradise” with George Clooney and Julia Roberts is nearing the coveted $100 million globally. It’s a huge benchmark for a genre that’s otherwise been written off as dead, at least in the theatrical sense. Yet “Ticket to Paradise,” thanks to a healthy dose of star power, is defying the odds with $96 million in ticket sales to date. It cost $60 million.
Internationally, the film added $4.7 million from 78 markets over the weekend, boosting its tally to $80 million. The top-earning territories include Australia ($9.8 million), the U.K. and Ireland ($9.43 million) and Germany ($9.43 million).
Another box office winner, Paramount’s R-rated horror movie “Smile,” added $10 million overseas in its fourth weekend of release. Already, the film has generated $81.9 million internationally and $84 million in North America, a massive result given its $17 million budget.