Black Adam will most likely turn out to be a box-office low. New reports from The Hollywood Reporter indicate that an extended production budget for reshoots increased the film’s budget by over $250 million. However, now that the film’s box-office returns haven’t been according to expectations, the resultant losses would be higher, making Black Adam a theatrical flop. Black Adam was earlier reported to be made on a budget of $190M. However, owing to reshoots sanctioned after poor response to test screenings, the funding was extended up to $260M before marketing costs.

After reports of Black Adam falling hard at the box office, actor Dwayne Johnson tweeted his response discarding such news and claiming that Black Adam is performing well. However, now that Black Adam has ended up with $391M in worldwide gross, the total is not on par with the film’s budget, meaning it wasn’t profitable on the theatrical front.

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The film might recover the budget from selling rights and future merchandise sales, but that won’t make it a box-office success. According to THR, the studio spent another $100M on marketing. Taking that into account, the movie will lose almost equal to its marketing cost. Seeing how DC Films have recently pulled the plug on other DC Extended Universe projects, this loss on Black Adam does put the studio at a setback.

It raises the question of whether these numbers partly influenced DC Studios’ decision to halt Black Adam’s future in the franchise. Just yesterday, after a meeting with Peter Safran and James Gunn, Dwayne Johnson tweeted that Black Adam won’t be the first film in the DCU’s new slate. There is an indefinite curtain over Dwayne Johnson’s future as DC’s famous anti-hero and the next chapter of his character. Black Adam was heavily promoted before its release and was teased about being the game-changer of the franchise. That was before the newly formed DC Studios and the change it brought to the plans for DC’s shared cinematic universe.

It’s possible that after addressing the audience’s response to Black Adam, the new co-chairs of DC Studios put the final nail on the decision to leave yet another DCEU story behind before stepping into their new ten-year plan for the now-renamed DC Universe.

Will Black Adam Ever Be a Part of the DC Universe?

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Though the hopes are low, Dwayne Johnson wishes to return as Black Adam at some point. In his tweet, Johnson cryptically addressed that the studio has kept options for Black Adam follow-ups open in their new plans. However, the film won’t be the top story of the revitalized series. Unlike Henry Cavill, who has permanently departed from his role of Superman, Dwayne Johnson hasn’t called for any such decision. Hence, there are slight possibilities that the film’s story will take some shape in the future of DCU. Yet, there are also chances that such plans will be dropped as the franchise continues; hence, nothing can be said about the potential Black Adam 2.

Black Adam was Johnson’s long-term passion project he worked on for more than a decade. From the beginning, he said Black Adam would change the power hierarchy in the DC Universe. Unfortunately, his dream isn’t taking the same shape he wished for. The film’s sequel won’t lift off anytime soon, and his planned venture to get Superman and Teth-Adam will also not see any light. But Black Adam was indeed a good watch for DC fans.