With the debut of Shazam!: Fury of the Gods three months away, the lack of any nascent marketing push lends credence to a report about Warner Bros. Discovery's finances. With all the "earned media" DC Studios is getting with the hiring of James Gunn and Peter Safran, it's shocking it has not tried to pivot that attention to its next big superhero release.

The first Shazam! film made great use of the marquee DC characters, from name-drops, visible merchandise and the infamous headless Superman cameo. Yet, with the Marvel Family and Dame Helen Mirren joining Billy Batson on this outing, it feels like a story that could (in better box office days) support its own universe. David F. Sandberg's bright, fun superhero story served as the perfect palate cleanser after the disappointment of the theatrical Justice League. Most importantly, Zachary Levi's bright-eyed, boy-in-a-super-man's-body character served to remind audiences that DC Studios movies can be fun. There were stakes and a big ol' CGI-fueled punch-em-up, but the humor and heart in the film are what bolstered its legacy as a co-equal corner of the then-DC Extend Universe. So, while the Rock turned down the chance to menace his comics' nemesis Shazam in the film, Black Adam may foil the Marvel Family after all.

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Warner Bros. Discovery May Not Have the Money to Market Shazam 2

Since SDCC 2022, where Shazam!: Fury of the Gods dropped its trailer, all DC-focused marketing was on the changing hierarchy of power in the universe. When the dust settled, Black Adam failed to deliver what Warner Bros. Discovery wanted most: money. As part of the merger deal, the new company took on billions in AT&T's debt. This means the company is cash poor, leading to cost-cutting measures from scrapping Batgirl for tax reasons or stripping shows from HBO Max to sell to other services. (All while increasing the price of HBO Max.) Black Adam closed its run with around $443 million in box office grosses, less than the film's "break-even" estimate after the split with movie theaters.

In August, a reporter for The Hollywood Reporter, Borys Kit, claimed that Warner Bros. Discovery only had enough money to market two films for the rest of the year. Black Adam was one, and Don't Worry Darling was the other. With a $35 million budget before marketing, its $78 million box office haul may put the film in the green, but not enough to shoulder the (at least) $50 million marketing budget a film like Shazam!: Fury of the Gods needs. One would think, after Black Adam, Warner Bros. Discovery would want to remind moviegoers that there is a new, different DC film coming very soon.

As time moves closer to the March 17 release date, more marketing may begin in earnest. Yet, if marketing is going to be a problem, Zachary Levi should take a page out of Ryan Reynold's playbook and do it himself. To promote Deadpool, Reynolds showed up on TV shows, YouTube channels and Twitch streams in full costume and in character. While he was fighting a studio that didn't believe in Deadpool, Levi might, like the hero he plays, have to swoop in and rescue the film's chances.

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WB Needs a Blockbuster - And Only Exorbitant Marketing Costs Deliver That (For Now)

Aquaman holds a trident

On the Blu-ray for Clerks III, Kevin Smith said that even films with budgets in the single-digit millions like his need a minimum $20 million marketing budget. Bigger blockbusters sometimes double the production budget in marketing, especially during pre-pandemic times when a billion dollars was an easier box office target to hit. Warner Bros. wanted Black Adam to make $800 million because the studio is in the business of making money. Yet, it needed the film to turn a profit in order to fund the studio's business for 2023 and beyond. It's easy to point fingers at Warner Bros. Discovery, but the new executives inherited a fiscally untenable mess.

Those who lament the over-reliance on superhero blockbusters likely think a low or mid-budget movie could be the hit WB needs. Something that makes $300 million on a budget 100 times less than that. Yet, when marketing costs are taken into concern, these films are buried under costs that might surpass the production budget entirely. Don't Worry Darling should be a hit with nearly $80 million in the age of streaming. Yet, depending on how much WB spent on marketing, it may need to break even for the studio via licensing and home-release revenue, just like Black Adam. All of this is bad news for Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, a comic book film with a unique concept featuring characters without the name recognition of his peers.

Ultimately, the saving grace of Shazam!: Fury of the Gods will be what carried the first film to success: the story. If the film is as fun and heartwarming as the trailer suggests, good "word of mouth" advertising will push it to success no amount of marketing budget could buy. However, if Warner Bros. is struggling to meet the exorbitant costs of marketing, perhaps it's time the industry considers a cheaper approach, maybe even putting some of that marketing money into the production of their movies.

Shazam!: Fury of the Gods debuts in theaters on March 17, 2023.

Source: Box Office Mojo