was Shazam too campy for general audiences?

[JannTosh]

Shazam is one of the lowest superhero films in admissions in recent years. Take a look

Superhero Movies at the Box Office - Box Office Mojo


even Ghost Rider and Daredevil had higher admissions


I enjoyed the movie overall but I wonder if the type of tone the movie was going for was unappealing to general audiences. Even I know some people who thought it was too "Silly"

 

[Erzengel]

Outside of it's unfortunate position of being placed between Captain Marvel & Endgame, I think it also needed to be the 12th movie in the DCEU and not the 2nd after the course change from WB/DC. Maybe after a successful Wonder Woman sequel or Batman movie, then I think a DCEU guest star not that ridiculous cameo at the end would have also benefited the movie.

 

[TMP98]

No, Shazam had a terrible marketing campaign and low awareness. Why release a first trailer that early? Why stop marketing the film until the month before release afterewards?

 

[Zarex]

I enjoyed the film, but I don't think the terrible, awful SHAZAM! muscle suit did the movie any favors. Zach Levi is a tall, fit guy. There was absolutely no reason to pump up both he and the other male members of the SHAZAM! family to that level when Christopher Reeves portrayed a Kryptonian powerhouse without looking like he was in the midst of a steroid regimen.

Antony Starr looks to be comparable to Mr. Levi in size, yet he got a much, much better suit as Homelander in the fantastic Amazon series, The Boys.

 

[THORin]

I loved the film so much, I can’t see any reason audiences didn’t go to see it. Though I do think it should have come out at Christmas.

 

[Iceman]

I don’t think it was too campy for audiences. I think audiences thought from the marketing that it was just that as the other mythology/light horror stuff wasn’t really featured.

 

[blackdragon6]

I think people thought of it as a "kid's movie". At least outside of social media. People saw the trailer and wasn't interested.

 

[mclay18]

I loved the film so much, I can’t see any reason audiences didn’t go to see it. Though I do think it should have come out at Christmas.

That's what I thought too. It didn't lean too much on the Christmas setting, but had it and Aquaman swapped release dates... it would've had a higher domestic tally and less competition during the Christmas-New Year's frame.

However, the fact that WB had early advance screenings for Shazam! helped its opening weekend and overall gross thanks to word-of-mouth. And the buzz will grow for a sequel after people discover it on TV airings and on DVD/Blu/digital.

 

[Boy Scout]

So has the word camp lost all meaning or?

 

[Binker]

This is the misconception: Shazam was a hit. It didn't cost much, it was highly rated, so it being a failure is factually incorrect. Just bc it didn't make a billion doesn't mean its a failure. Stop saying it is.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Literally no one in this thread has called it a failure.

 

[Binker]

Not outright, but in other ways. Besides, ain't the first time this was asked.

 

[JimThompson]

I think it is more innocent than campy, but either way the answer is no. That movie was actually refreshing.

 

[Kuwolski]

This is the misconception: Shazam was a hit. It didn't cost much, it was highly rated, so it being a failure is factually incorrect. Just bc it didn't make a billion doesn't mean its a failure. Stop saying it is.

I wouldn't call it a hit either, unless hits nowadays are defined by profits in relation to budget and not actual tickets sold. I was a fan of the film and own it on Blu-ray, but I would call it a modest success more then anything with definite room for improvement on the sequel.

 

[Binker]

I wouldn't call it a hit either, unless hits nowadays are defined by profits in relation to budget and not actual tickets sold. I was a fan of the film and own it on Blu-ray, but I would call it a modest success more then anything with definite room for improvement on the sequel.

It is a hit. No money was loss. Its budget was 100+, and it got close to 400 WW. How is that a loss? Its not.

Like I said, just bc its not a billion WW doesn't mean its a failure.

 

[Kuwolski]

It is a hit. No money was loss. Its budget was 100+, and it got close to 400 WW. How is that a loss? Its not.

Like I said, just bc its not a billion WW doesn't mean its a failure.

I didn't say it was a loss, nor that it needs a billion to be considered a hit. The fact the studio didn't lose money is only important to me in terms of improved chances of a sequel, but in terms of tickets sold to the GA and the traction it gained in the zeitgeist/marketplace vs. other releases, it doesn't register as a hit in my eyes. WOM was good and people who saw it seemed to like it so that bodes well for the sequel. I think modest success is fair.

 

[Flint Marko]

So has the word camp lost all meaning or?

Yup. If it’s lighthearted and fun, it’s now “campy” unfortunately.

 

[JannTosh]

It is a hit. No money was loss. Its budget was 100+, and it got close to 400 WW. How is that a loss? Its not.

Like I said, just bc its not a billion WW doesn't mean its a failure.

when you add in marketing budget, Shazam likely won't make a big profit. Also I'm not saying it is failure I just pointed out it had the lowest admissions of a superhero film in recent years

 

[I Am The Knight]

The Shazam movie is not campy, but Zachari Levi's suit is

 

[MbJ]

Audiences definitely hate lighthearted and whimsical superhero movies, as the box office has repeatedly shown.

Wait...

 

[JimThompson]

So has the word camp lost all meaning or?

Well...it really never had all that much meaning in the first place, at least not in the sense it is being bandied about here. Today anything that is innocent, fun and light-hearted is referred to as being "campy", and those doing so usually seem to be using the term derisively.

 

[Flint Marko]

Well...it really never had all that much meaning in the first place, at least not in the sense it is being bandied about here.

Err, what? Camp most certainly has a meaning.

 

[WhoMani]

I'm not sure why Shazam didn't do well in the Box Office. Like someone suggested perhaps they should have released it around Christmas.

 

[MadVillainy]

Shazam wasn't a "hit" like some DCEU die hards say and it wasn't a failure or flop either. But it didn't do great.
It has nothing to do with campiness and I agree with Boy Scout that people don't understand the term "camp"

I think it was the marketing which was just meh. When you have a C list hero/brand like Shazam you gotta do it big with the marketing. Especially when you don't have a MCU name recognition backing him/her.
You could have a lot of fun with the marketing when the main hero is a kid in an adult body. And when it's a comedy. But they didn't do anything special. They could've gotten very funny and very creative with the trailers, posters, billboards, social media. I mean the main characters are teens and they didn't do anything cool with social media. Did Billy Batson have a Twitter or did they do any viral marketing through YouTube? They could've made the YT account that Freddie has in the movie real and had various clips of "Captain Sparkle Fingers" in action. Or you remember those little vignettes of Loki talking to kids? You could've done something similar with Zach Levi in character going to a high school class.

I also don't think the quality of the movie was that special. Not saying it was bad or anywhere near close to that, but it wasn't anything that demands people to go see it in theaters. And, this is anecdotal, but I dont know anyone who saw the movie who LOVED it like how people really enjoyed other movies. Then again, I could say the same thing about huge hits like Jurassic World 2, Aquaman, and Captain Marvel.

Anyway, yeah I just think it was a bad release date and very poor marketing. It should've done more

 

[B]

Stop comparing DC films to the anomaly that is some MCU films.

Shazam had a $100m budget & made a respectable $370m smack in the middle of Captain Marvel, which was no doubt helped by seemingly being promoted somewhat falsely as being a 'must watch' before Endgame & then Endgame itself which obviously was going to do monstrous numbers.

The film was a hit (just not a Marvel hit) in the same way that both Ant-Man film(s) were hits despite not making as much as the rest of the MCU movies released in & around the same time.