While Dwayne Johnson and Black Adam ultimately failed, there is still one major lesson that James Gunn and his DCU can learn from Johnson’s mistake.
Black Adam was supposed to change the “hierarchy of power in the DC Universe.” Technically, Black Adam did lead to changes, just not the ones Johnson expected.
Released in October 2022, Black Adam grossed $67 million domestically during its opening weekend. That’s a solid number for any movie, but not one that cost between $200 million and $260 million. The underperformance at the box office led some outlets to declare Black Adam a box office bomb. However, Johnson shared numbers on his social media that Black Adam would be profitable.
Regardless of what side of the debate you’re on, Black Adam did not propel the DC Universe to new heights. It finished its theatrical run at $393 million worldwide. The same month of Black Adam’s release, Gunn and Peter Safran were hired by Warner Bros. to run DC.
Johnson and Black Adam are not part of Gunn’s new DC Universe. DC made the right decision by reducing Johnson’s influence on the company’s future direction. Johnson bringing back Henry Cavill as Superman was a huge mistake, one that DC fixed immidately.
Johnson should not have been the man to become the architect of DC’s future and build out its interconnected universe. Where Gunn and DC made a fatal error is underestimating the idea of star power.
DC’s biggest mistake was thinking it didn’t need stars
Say what you want about Johnson’s acting ability, but he is an A-lister with international recognition and box office appeal. The fact that Black Adam almost made $400 million is a testament to Johnson’s star power.
Gunn has a track record of making stars in superhero movies. Look at what he did with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Chris Pratt is now a major name in Hollywood because Gunn cast him as Pete Quill.
Gunn has tried to implement that same technique in DC, but it’s led to mediocre results. In Superman, Gunn cast a relatively unknown David Corenswet, TV star Rachel Brosnahan, and respected actor Nicholas Hoult. Superman became a hit with a worldwide gross of $618 million, but it wasn’t a home run. For comparison, all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies grossed more than Superman.
Then, there was the Supergirl debacle, which flopped miserably at the box office. Milly Alcock starred as the titular hero, an emerging actress whose biggest role to date came in House of the Dragon.
Would Superman or Supergirl have grossed more had an A-list star been in the titular role? It’s possible. It certainly would’ve helped Supergirl more.
I do think Gunn needs to rethink how he casts future DC projects. It’s not 2014 anymore, where he can make stars out of nowhere. People need reasons to go to theaters, and huge stars drive demand. You can still build stars in supporting roles, but the titular heroes must be big names going forward.
Gunn doesn’t have to cast Johnson, but he should find someone with similar star power.
