One year after its box office disappointment, "Black Adam" experiences a resurgence on Netflix following the recent addition of the DC Extended Universe to the popular streaming platform.
According to Screen Rant, "Black Adam," which premiered in cinemas in October of last year, now holds the 8th position on the Netflix viewership chart. It joins another DCEU film, "Suicide Squad," which ranks 5th. "Black Adam" made its debut on Netflix on December 1, joining several other DCEU entries available on the streaming service, having been previously accessible on Max and Apple TV.
"Black Adam" marked the final DCEU release of 2022, featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the lead role as the ancient superhuman. The story follows Black Adam's mission to liberate Kahndaq from a crime syndicate aiming to seize control of the nation through an ancient relic. Co-produced by Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions, the film was part of significant plans for the Black Adam character within the DCEU. These plans included a potential film franchise and hinted at future interactions with Superman. The post-credits scene featured Henry Cavill's brief return as the "Last Son of Krypton."
Unfortunately, "Black Adam" faced a significant setback at the international box office, generating only $393 million against a budget that reached up to $260 million. This financial performance resulted in financial losses for DC Studios and dealt a blow to any prospects of building a film series around the character. Following a shift in leadership with James Gunn and Peter Safran taking over as co-CEOs at DC, it was jointly confirmed by Gunn and Dwayne Johnson in December that the Black Adam franchise would no longer be a part of the DCEU in the future. Subsequent reports suggested that Johnson's alleged ego played a role in the film's failure, causing discord with Warner Bros. executives due to certain behind-the-scenes decisions.
Dwayne Johnson has offered insights into the shelved Black Adam sequel, describing it as "one of the biggest mysteries" as to why a follow-up movie won't happen. During an interview on Kevin Hart's podcast, "Hart to Heart," Johnson attributed the challenges to Black Adam being caught in a whirlwind of new leadership. He explained, "It was so many changes in leadership. Anytime you have a company, a publicly traded company, and you have all those changes in leadership, you have people coming in who, creatively and fiscally, are going to make decisions that you may not agree with."
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, "Black Adam" features Johnson alongside Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, and former James Bond franchise star Pierce Brosnan. As the DCEU concludes with "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" this holiday season, the future of DC films and TV shows will take shape under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran, with their transformed DCU launching a new era called Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
Black Adam is now available to stream on Netflix.
.png)
.png)
