Dwayne Johnson Just Had A Record-Breaking Day At The Box Office
Dwayne johnson just had his best opening day ever at the box office as a leading man with the release of Black Adam.
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Dwayne Johnson has been in a lot of movies that earned high gross at the box office, but none have been like Black Adam. According to Deadline, the superhero flick is Dwayne Johnson’s highest-grossing movie to date with the star as the lead. Black Adam is estimated to take in $60-62 million on its opening weekend, the best the celebrity has accomplished without an ensemble cast.
Dwayne Johnson’s hits at the box office on opening weekends have brought him together with some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood. He was in The Mummy Returns starring Brendan Fraser, which took in $68 million, and the most recent entry in the Fast and the Furious franchise, Hobbs and Shaw, saw $60 million in ticket sales the first night it was released. Black Adam represents the first film that has propelled a high box office turnout based on Dwayne Johnson’s singular star power, representing a personal best for the ex-wrestler.
Further, Black Adam represents the best opening night for The Rock at $26.8 million, compared to $23.6 million for Hobbs and Shaw, $23.1 million for The Mummy Returns, $19.7 million for Jumanji: The Next Level, and $18.1 million for San Andreas. Black Adam was projected to bring in $70 million on opening weekend, and the take from Friday night has driven expectations, especially as the weekend wears on and families visit theaters together. Dwayne Johnson’s DC Comics movie may not reach the heights of Marvel Cinematic Universe opening weekends of over $100 million at the box office, but both Black Adam and this summer’s The Batman are early indicators that the DC properties are coming into contention with Marvel.
Friday night was very good for ticket sales overall, with estimated weekend sales topping $100 million for the first time since the weekend of July 22-24. Black Adam was also able to attract audiences of a variety of demographics along metrics of age, sex, and race. In fact, although two-thirds of the people who saw the movie were male, its female audience, 35% of viewers overall, rated it at 83%.
Another factor that could have helped this movie excel is the promotion involved. Dwayne Johnson appeared at one theater in person and mingled with audiences, and has been promoting the movie to his millions of followers on social media. The star’s enthusiasm for the project has amplified Warner Bros.’s own advertising, which has a reach of almost one million on its own just for Black Adam.
In an era when theaters are recovering from long pandemic closures, Black Adam is one of a few summer blockbusters that give hope to movie-goers of a return to pre-pandemic theater experiences. Others, like The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick, and Jurassic World: Dominion, have been bright spots in what has been a very sparse year for theaters as fewer movies have been released due to productions being postponed by the pandemic. Dwayne Johnson is a box office draw whose appearance in Black Adam has been timely for both Warner Bros. and movie fans all over.
