One of the last films in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe is finding success on Tubi. The free-to-watch streaming service has added Shazam! Fury of the Gods to its library, and the movie is now in the number 3 spot of the top 10 most popular movies on the streaming service. Released in 2023, Fury of the Gods serves as a sequel to 2019’s Shazam! as the teenage superhero struggles to juggle his family and personal life with his responsibilities as a superhero. What made the Shazam mythos so enjoyable was that Billy Batson’s foster family also gets superpowers, with his siblings serving as his partners with their superhero alter egos.
David F. Sandberg returned to direct the movie after the first Shazam film was a crucial and commercial success. Often referenced as being like the movie Big but with superpowers, Shazam! (2019) was a breath of fresh air after the critical failure of Joss Whedon’s version of Justice League. The 2019 film was also released after the December 2018 DCEU movie Aquaman ​​​​​​starring Jason Momoa, which grossed a little over $1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing DCEU film. Overall, the DCEU had been in a good place at the time of the release of the first Shazam movie.
Unfortunately, whether it was because of the long four-year wait between sequels or story changes due to a different screenwriter being brought in to do revisions, the sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods didn’t do nearly as well as its predecessor. Moreover, the other DCEU films that had come out between the Shazam movies all struggled at the box office as well, signaling the beginning of the end for the cinematic universe that started with Man of Steel.
‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ Is a Reminder of the Former DCEU

Shazam! Fury of the Gods doubles down on the mystical elements of the first film, introducing the daughters of the Titan Atlas as the movie’s main antagonists. While featuring plenty of imaginative action and continuing to highlight what makes Billy such a unique hero when compared to the rest of the DCEU, it’s apparent that the character lost some of its appeal in the years since the first movie. The film would receive a 49% “rotten” rating on the review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes and only gross $235 million worldwide against a production budget of $125 million.

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Now, two years since its initial theatrical release, it seems that people are checking out a movie that many had chosen to skip out on in theaters, as evidenced by the relatively small box office intake. Moreover, while critics may have given the film negative reviews, the audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 85%, showcasing that the general audience enjoys the film, making it a perfect choice for casual viewing on Tubi.
Tubi continues to demonstrate that more accessible streaming services can lead to more widespread recognition of films that otherwise may have struggled at the box office. While that era of DC films is over, James Gunn’s revitalization of DC Studios and the DCU has just begun, with Creature Commandos on Max followed by Superman in theaters this summer.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Release Date

March 17, 2023

Runtime

130 minutes

Producers

Geoff Johns, Marcus Viscidi, Peter Safran, Richard Brener, Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter, Victoria Palmeri