With US$53m takings, Shazam! is the magic word at the box office
With estimated ticket sales of US$53.4 million (S$72.4m) in its opening weekend, Shazam! showed that North American movie fans can enjoy a lighter spin on the usual dark superhero tale, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
The family-friendly flick stars Asher Angel as Billy Baston, an unhappy foster kid who is transformed into a muscular, wise-cracking adult superhero (Zachary Levi) when anyone pronounces the secret word. Both the film's reviews and audience responses have been strongly positive, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Its domestic take for the three-day weekend was not a bad return on the US$80 million Warner Bros and New Line spent to make it - particularly considering overseas ticket sales of US$102 million so far.
Another new release, horror film Pet Sematary - a remake of the 1989 film based on the Stephen King book - had a solid US$25 million in ticket sales, US$4 million more than Paramount spent to produce it, Variety reported.
In third spot was last weekend's box office leader, Disney's Dumbo, at US$18.2 million, down 60 per cent from its opening. - AFP
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