DC Films has had a major presence at CinemaCon this year. One of the most talked-about films from the Warner Brothers presentation was Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The sequel to the 2018 coming of age comedy has shifted around a lot with the crazy carousel that is the current DC Slate. The film was set to release on December 16, 2022 after moving from 2023 to this year. Now it has been announced that the highly-anticipated DC sequel is moving once this time jumping just a few days later to December 21, 2022.
According to Deadline, the move is to avoid sharing the release date with another long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water. Given that Disney confirmed the Avatar sequel is sticking to the December 16 release date, this move is not surprising. The first Shazam! was a critical and modest box office hit, but the original Avatar is the highest-grossing movie of all time. The James Cameron film grossed $2.8 billion at the worldwide box office and there is no reason to believe this sequel will not be another major hit. Avatar fans have been waiting for a sequel ever since the film was released in 2009, and from the sounds of it, the footage shown at CinemaCon only teases the upcoming power of the sequel.
However, Shazam! is no slouch at the box office either. David F. Sandberg’s film made $366 million on a $100 million budget. This superhero origin story was praised for its well-balanced heart and humor, fun action, and a great performance from Zachary Levi. Fury of the Gods showed off new footage at CinemaCon as well and the sequel looks to strike the same magical lightning twice. While on the surface a five-day delay does not seem like it will make a huge difference for the sequel’s box office, making room for Avatar: The Way of Water will undoubtedly benefit Shazam! Fury of the Gods in the end.
In the past, The Christmas season has shown there is plenty of room for multiple major blockbusters to have success. Famously in 2018, Aquaman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Bumblebee were all released during the same holiday season — and they were all deemed major successes in their own right.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods stars Levi, Jack Dylan Grazer, Asher Angel, Rachel Zegler, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, Grace Fulton, Meagan Good, Lucy Liu, Djimon Hounsou, and Helen Mirren. The high-flying sequel also sees Sandberg return to the director's chair.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods releases on December 21, 2022. Until then, you can stream the first film on HBO Max.