Warner Bros. Discovery’s 2023 could be about to get off to a shaky start as far as the final leg of the DCEU is concerned. Shazam: Fury of the Gods is set to debut in theaters in March but is currently tracking to make just $35 million domestically on its opening weekend. In terms of success, this would not be disastrous against some other movies that have been released in recent years, but in DC terms it would put the film only above the Harley Quinn movie Birds of Prey as the second lowest DC opening.

While the new report from Deadline certainly doesn’t paint a glorious start to the 2023 DC slate, those who remember the debut outing of Zachary Levi’s superhero will recall how the movie managed to defy its low projections to open to the tune of $53 million. There will be a big hope that Shazam! Fury of the Gods can follow the same path and deliver a much more successful opening weekend gross than predicted, or it could spell trouble for the other DC movies coming later in the year.
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Last year’s announcements regarding the reboot of the DCU left many people wondering if there is any point to the movies being released this year, other than the universe-resetting The Flash. While Shazam is not perhaps on the same level as the likes of Wonder Woman, Batman etc, if the movie fails to improve on its expected box office then it could make 2023 another disappointing year for Warner Bros. Discovery when it comes to their biggest franchise.

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Can the DCEU’s Final Movies Avoid Being Tragic Leftovers?

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When the announcement was made last year that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be rebooting the DC franchise under the DC Studios banner, where exactly that left 2023’s DC movies was unclear. While Shazam! Fury of the Gods was undoubtedly expected to be one of the lowest grossing movies of the year’s offerings, the lack of enthusiasm in the film’s predicted box office is potentially bad news for subsequent releases.

Having said that, The Flash has been generating a lot of buzz in the last few weeks. With reports of outstanding test screenings, trailers building up Michael Keaton’s return as Batman and the promise of a multiversal story that will set the scene for Gunn and Safran’s DCU arrival, The Flash is all primed to be the jewel in the DC crown this summer.

In contract, little has been revealed about Blue Beetle and in the last week reports have started to surface that Aquaman 2 is struggling with test audiences. As the final chapter in the old DC franchise, this was possibly not the end that was envisioned and although The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will at least still do reasonably well at the box office, it seems that a lot of the air has been taken out of the franchises sails as fans now sit back and wait for Gunn and Safran’s new DCU to arrive.