“We really want these movies to stand on their own, with filmmakers best suited to the characters,” Toby Emmerich, chairman of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said by phone on Sunday morning. “We’re all feeling deservedly really good.”
“Shazam!” was the No. 1 movie in North America, collecting $53.5 million over the weekend, according to Comscore, which compiles box-office data. Paid previews in partnership with Fandango in late March, designed to prompt positive chatter online, added $3.33 million. “Shazam!” also had a solid start in countries like Mexico and Russia.
Second place at the domestic box office went to a remake of “Pet Sematary” (Paramount), based on the novel by Stephen King. It took in an estimated $25 million. Disney’s big-budget “Dumbo” trundled along in third place, selling $18.2 million in tickets, for a sad two-week total of $76.3 million.
“Shazam!” was made by New Line, a division of Warner that focuses on lower-cost films that often serve as counterprogramming. Made for about $100 million — about 40 percent less than most superhero movies — “Shazam!” tells the story of a teenage boy (played by Asher Angel, known for Disney Channel’s “Andi Mack”) who can turn himself into a hero with an adult body (Zachary Levi) and unique powers.
“New Line always thought that ‘Big’ as a superhero movie was a great idea, a way to make the genre feel fresh and different,” Emmerich said.
Warner has started to deliver superhero home runs on a consistent basis: “Wonder Woman” from Patty Jenkins, “Aquaman” from James Wan, and seemingly “Shazam!,” which was directed by a relative newcomer, David F. Sandberg.
Where the PG-13 “Shazam!” will end up at the box office remains a bit of a question mark given the impending arrival of “Avengers: Endgame.” Ticket buyers gave “Shazam!” an A grade in CinemaScore exit polls, an indication of staying power.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.