North American audiences came out for New Line Cinema’s Shazam! on Thursday, bringing in an estimated $5.9 million, according to box office trackers. Add that to the $3.3m the film earned from the Fandango VIP screening two weekends prior and the film has a $9.2m domestic take so far.
While Shazam!‘s early screening topped Aquaman‘s similar Amazon Prime screening by $400k, the Zachary Levi starrer fell short of Jason Momoa’s more standard Thursday preview take of $9m back on December 20. Aquaman totaled $11m between its previews. Wonder Woman scored $13m during its Thursday launch.
One thing Shazam! has on its side is a reported modest $85-$90m production budget, which is roughly half (or more) of recent DC films: Aquaman ($160m), Justice League ($300m), Wonder Woman ($150m), Suicide Squad ($175m), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($250m), and Man of Steel ($225m).
Shazam! is expected to open between $45-60m this weekend, but positive reviews and strong preview showings are starting to push some expections to the higher end.