Black Adam finally debuted in movie theatres on October 21, after a 15 year build-up for Dwayne Johnson. While The Rock promised that the hierarchy of power in the DC universe would never be the same, that ended up being true in ways he had not predicted. DC movies have gone through a major shake-up in the last four months, beginning in August with the shocking scrapping of Batgirl after filming had wrapped.
The second huge announcement came on October 25, just after Black Adam was released. James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken over DC Studios, and will make creative and business decisions across TV, film, and animation.
Henry Cavill’s Superman had a cameo in Black Adam, and Johnson put out statements about him being essential to the DCEU, followed by Cavill releasing a statement that he was officially back in the role. This was swiftly followed by a retraction, after Cavill actually met with Gunn and it emerged that he wasn’t back as Superman after all. So, Black Adam has an awful lot of baggage and backstory that – let’s face it – is possibly more interesting than the movie itself.
The other controversy surrounding Black Adam is how much money it’s actually made and whether it’s made a loss or a profit. Black Adam has made $390 million worldwide, and this is unlikely to increase by much more now that Avatar 2 is out, and now that Black Adam is available on HBO Max. Warner Bros and Johnson maintain that Black Adam has made money, but others say it needed to make $600 million to break even.
However, Johnson can take some comfort in the fact that Black Adam is the most popular movie on HBO Max at the moment. While the future of the DCEU could not be more up-in-the-air, Warner Bros seem determined that The Flash will be released in 2023, despite the controversies surrounding its star Ezra Miller. Aquaman 2 and Shazam 2 are also set for release next year.
In the meantime, check out our guide to the best Batman villains.