Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ social media reactions promise a fun and engaging sequel

There is a new DC universe on the horizon courtesy of new DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, which includes projects like Superman: Legacy and The Brave and the Bold. With that said, the DCEU is not over yet.

The franchise, which began in 2013 with Man of Steel, will continue throughout 2023 with Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17), The Flash (June 16), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25).

Directed by David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation, Shazam!), Fury of the Gods is around the corner, and the first social media reactions have arrived, promising the sequel to be a worthy successor to 2019’s Shazam!

Shazam! Fury of the Gods reactions

Several journalists and movie pundits who watched Fury of the Gods praised the film for its humor, heart, and action. Praise was also directed at Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Lucy Liu (Elementary), and Helen Mirren (F9), who portray the movie’s antagonists, the Daughters of Atlas:

Understandably, not all reviews were positive. Gabriella Geisinger, from Digital Spy, stated that, though the movie had some positives, they were overshadowed by its final CGI battle and humor that didn’t quite land:

Can good reviews help Fury of the Gods financially?

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is on track to thrive critically, but the film may still have a significant challenge ahead: box-office success. In late February, Deadline reported that Shazam! 2 was on track to have a $35 million opening weekend domestically, a small figure compared to Shazam!‘s $53 million domestic opening.

Now, as noted by Deadline, that number could theoretically change as marketing ramps up. Furthermore, per The Hollywood Reporter, box-office estimates have been conservative since the pandemic, meaning Shazam! 2‘s final opening figure could be higher. Fury of the God‘s opening-weekend numbers could also increase due to the sequel’s positive reception. The question, however, is how much they could go up. The superhero genre has arguably been the dominant force in Hollywood for over a decade. Recently, however, some major tentpoles have struggled financially.

Black Adam only made $392 million worldwide, despite starring Dwayne Johnson, arguably one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Then, Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, has made $421 million worldwide as of the time of writing (for comparison, 2015’s Ant-Man took in $519 million, while Ant-Man and the Wasp earned $622 million); that, despite the film being the opening chapter of the MCU’s phase 5.

Shazam! wasn’t an overwhelming hit to begin with in 2019 (it made $365 million worldwide). Taking the struggles that comic book movies have faced recently, paired with the relative obscurity of the Shazam franchise, Fury of the Gods could have an uphill battle at the global box office. For now, though, the sequel is off to a promising start. Going by its social media reactions, the film could find overall critical success, which could, in turn, benefit its earnings.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods will be released in theaters on March 17, 2023.