Look, you win some and you lose some. The first Shazam! was a hit for Warner Bros and DC Studios, and it got the best reviews of director David F. Sandberg’s career. The new Shazam! Fury of the Gods? Well, it’s pretty much the opposite. The film flopped in theaters in its opening weekend and it got the worst reviews of Sandberg’s work to date.
In fact, Fury of the Gods’ score on Rotten Tomatoes is barely more than half of the one the first Shazam! received from critics; a 53 versus a 90. That hasn’t escaped Sandberg, who tweeted his reaction to this disappointing twist of fate, while putting the situation into a more positive perspective.
“On Rotten Tomatoes I just got my lowest critic score and my highest audience score on the same film,” he tweeted, followed by a shrug emoji. “I wasn’t expecting a repeat of the first movie critically but I was still a little surprised because I think it’s a good film. Oh well.”
Sandberg is correct that Fury of the Gods has his best audience score to date on Rotten Tomatoes, albeit only slightly. Here are his four films so far, with their RT critics and audience scores:
- Lights Out – 75 percent critics score (61 percent audience score)
- Annabelle: Creation – 70 percent critics score (68 percent audience score)
- Shazam! – 90 percent critics score (82 percent audience score)
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods – 53 percent critics score (87 percent audience score
READ MORE: Our Interview With Shazam! Director David F. Sandberg
It is worth mentioning, however, that Shazam!, while a slightly lower audience score has had a bunch more ratings. Rotten Tomatoes says the first film has “10,000+ ratings” while Fury of the Gods only has “1,000+ ratings.” It only stands to reason that the larger and larger audience that sees a movie, the more chances you have to get some negative responses. And Fury of the Gods’ audience score could still drift down a little as it continues to play in theaters. (The film’s CinemaScore, which is taken from votes cast by paying customers on opening night, was not quite as enthusiastic as RT; just a B+ compared to the A that the first Shazam! got.)
But hey: Some audiences who’ve seen Fury of the Gods definitely enjoyed it. And if Sandberg likes the movie he made, that’s good too. Shazam! Fury of the Gods is now playing in theaters. The next DC Studios movie, The Flash, is scheduled to open in theaters on June 16.
The Worst Billion-Dollar Blockbusters
All of these movies grossed more than $1 billion at the box office. And they all stink.
