Dwayne Johnson has long been claiming that the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is set to change, and this weekend's release of his tentpole superhero feature, Black Adam, may go a long way to confirming whether that might be true or not. The film, from Warner Bros. and DC Comics, looks set to debut with a $60 million opening from 4,350 North American theaters from Friday to Sunday.
That figure would be more than good enough to dethrone Halloween Ends from the top spot, after the latest Michael Myers horror flick bagged a $41 million opening against a budget of $30 million last weekend. Black Adam will need a long sustained run and decent word of mouth to be a success, long-term, based on the opening weekend as it comes into play with $195 million in budget behind it. However, it does look set to give the box office its biggest opening weekend since July's Thor: Love and Thunder.
Compared to recent fare from DC, Black Adam looks set to debut stronger than The Suicide Squad which grossed $26 million after launching simultaneously on HBO Max. That said, Black Adam looks set to fall conspicuously short of the $134 million that The Batman brought in when it opened in March. The film will also need to overcome some mixed reviews from critics, with the film sitting at 55% positive on Rotten Tomatoes.
Also releasing this weekend is Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy about a bickering pair of exes who come together to stop their daughter from making the same mistakes they did in their youth. Filmed on location in Bali, the movie is aiming for $15 million from 3,500 screens. It has some serious star power in the form of George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and has already grossed $72.5 million internationally, before its domestic bow, from a budget of $60 million.
The director of the film, Ol Parker, has had previous success with Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and will be hoping that the counter-programming against the bluster of the 'anti-superhero' will prove profitable. Kaitlyn Dever co-stars in the film as the daughter of the two stars. It currently holds a 62% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Black Adam and Ticket to Paradise both open on October 21.