Dwayne Johnson Leaked Inaccurate Info On Black Adam’s Profits?
This article is more than 2 years old
Dwayne Johnson appears to be getting in far more trouble with DC than his constant updates that Henry Cavill would be returning as Superman. Apparently, Dwayne Johnson’s team had leaked a fake Black Adam financial report to Deadline, according to several executives at Warner Bros, stating that Black Adam was set to make something in the range of $52 to $72 million in profits. However, there had already been a conflicting report that the DCU property was going to be losing $50 to $100 million.
A reporter at Puck, Matt Belloni, released a newsletter about this supposed leaked information and revealed that Dwayne Johnson’s team was behind this Black Adam financial report. The team had apparently put together some “bogus” figures that factored in all sales, including those made from VOD, Blu-Ray, etc. However, Belloni claims that there is no way that the DC movie would be making the financial gains that Johnson claimed in reports.
In the report, Dwayne Johnson also claimed that Black Adam spent some $100 million on its promotions and ads, though that number is also misleading. It appears that Johnson did not want to see his DC starring affair be another flop at the theaters, though Black Adam certainly was not that. The movie certainly was not a flop, but it wasn’t the massive money maker that would lead directly to a sequel either.
These bogus figures and Dwayne Johnson not returning for another Black Adam movie certainly do line up with the major shakeup happening for the DC Cinematic Universe. Co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are currently working on a new extended plan for the DC films, games, and shows, though those do not include Black Adam. Even Wonder Woman 3 was not safe from being cut to reshape this new era of DC.
Dwayne Johnson might have leaked the reports about Black Adam to save himself from being on the chopping block with DC, James Gunn, and Peter Safran, but it looks as though his efforts were for nothing. To be honest, it should have been expected that Black Adam was not the type of character that could carry on a new franchise, despite how famous Johnson currently is.
Dwayne Johnson pushing for Henry Cavill to appear in Black Adam was a good move too, but again, it was not enough for the DC Films division to consider keeping the anti-hero around. Resetting the entire DC Universe means getting rid of everyone currently involved, which isn’t a bad plan. Starting from square one is something that should have happened long ago, and it appears that both Gunn and Safran understand that.
Dwayne Johnson can be happy that he was the star of Black Adam, but it appears it will not move forward, along with additional Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash movies. We understand that the man likely went to great lengths to try and ensure that Black Adam would be part of this new universe, but considering the movie was not a massive blockbuster hit, there was likely no chance of saving it.
