Shazam! Fury of the Gods debuted well below expectations at the box office over the weekend, and star Zachary Levi is blaming its failure on poor marketing.

Levi responded to someone on Twitter who believed Zack Snyder fans were pleased with Shazam 2's disappointing box office start because they don't want to support other projects from the brand following DC's decision not to move forward with anything from the Snyderverse. The Shazam actor seemed to agree with the notion of toxic fandom being a factor but also pointed to the film's marketing. Levi said, "This is also true. Sad, but true. How much that actually affects the box office is anyone's guess. But I think the biggest issue we’re having is marketing. This is a perfect family movie, and yet a lot of families aren’t aware of that. Which is just a shame."

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Levi isn't the only one associated with the sequel that had much to say following the film's lackluster start. Director David F. Sandberg took to Reddit to respond to a comment about the film's performance by saying, "It's not like this comes as a surprise. I saw where this was heading a long time ago. I'll be alright though. I got paid all my money upfront." Rachel Zegler, who plays Anthea in the film, also spoke out about the reviews the movie has received. The actor said, "Some people out there are just being...senselessly mean. And it's unnecessary."

The Failure of Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Shazam! Fury of the Gods debuted to $30.5 million over the weekend, representing nearly half of the $53.5 million that the first Shazam! earned during its opening weekend in 2019. There were signs that the sequel was going to underperform when it entered early tracking to the tune of $35-40 million but the latest DC release didn't even match those conservative numbers. Overseas grosses didn't help matters with just $35 million earned over the weekend which resulted in a $65.5 million global start.

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Reviews for the film came in lower than its predecessor at 53 percent on Rotten Tomatoes versus the 90 percent rating earned by Shazam! The audience score is solid at 88 percent but its B+ CinemaScore also came in lower than the A earned by the first film. This could indicate that word of mouth isn't as strong for the sequel, even though audiences do seem to be enjoying it more than critics.

The other issue at play is that Shazam! Fury of the Gods comes to theaters after regime changes within Warner Bros. Co-CEOs of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran, revealed their slate of DC films and television adaptations for the newly minted DC Universe (DCU) that would be coming in the years ahead, and this made leftover offerings like Shazam! Fury of the Gods seem like they wouldn't be a part of the larger picture moving forward.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

Source: Twitter