In another win for the re-envisioned DC movie universe (albeit perhaps not on the level of Aquaman just yet), Shazam! arrived top of the Stateside box office charts. The light-hearted hero tale took in $53.4 million for the three-day weekend, according to studio estimates.
Adding in the money from the previous weekend's preview screenings, the new Warner Bros./New Line release is at $56.7 million domestically, a healthy start for a film that cost less to make (around $100 million before marketing costs) than it's recent DC stablemate. Outside the US, the movie made $102 million, resulting in a worldwide total to date of $158.7 million. The biggest challenge ahead for the movie is how much it can in before a little film called Avengers: Endgame arrives to dominate.
Also arriving (or should that be resurrecting?) in the charts was horror remake Pet Sematary, the Stephen King adaptation making $25 million for a solid second place start. Last week's champ, Dumbo, was pushed to third, where it added $18.2 million. Us saw a slight drop thanks to new horror competition, but still only slipped to fourth on $13.8 million. Captain Marvel, five weeks into its release, fell to fifth from third, yet still brought in $12.6 million even with a new costumed character drawing a similar audience.
Sixth place went to based-on-truth tale of racism and redemption The Best Of Enemies with $4.5 million, while Five Feet Apart dropped to seventh on $3.7 million. Unplanned slipped to eighth, earning $3.2 million, while Wonder Park took in $2 million at ninth. Finally, at 10th, we find How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, likely preparing to leave the top 10 with $1.9 million this weekend and a current US take of $129 million.
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