As fictional characters go, Barbie is no match for Black Adam. However, that was not the case during their films' respective theatrical releases. Greta Gerwig’s bright-pink blockbuster,Barbie, became the top-grossing film at the worldwide box office with a staggering $1.44 billion. But in terms of DVD sales, at least across the pond, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’sBlack Adamreigned supreme in 2023.
According to the British Association for Screen Entertainment, aka BASE (perVariety), director Jaume Collet-Serra’s superhero flop found new life on the United Kingdom’s DVD charts.Black Adamended up topping the UK list by selling “80,000 units." For those who don’t remember, the first big-screen adaptation of Captain Marvel’s (aka Shazam) nemesis only managed to make $393.5 million globally during its entire theatrical run, which began in October of 2022.
Black Adamdid perform much better overseas than in the United States, though, as the film brought in $225.3 million internationally compared to its domestic take of $168.2 million (perBox Office Mojo). And when it comes to the movie’s theatrical run in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America,Black Adamwas by far and away the top performer in the UK with $24.3 million, whereas the next closest was Mexico’s $15.6-million haul.
Related:Were We Too Harsh on Black Adam?
Lightning Finally Strikes for Black Adam
Black Adam
Following its release on DVD in January of 2023,Black Adamclimbed the charts to become the bestseller in the United Kingdom last year.Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’sfirst and seemingly only appearance as the anti-superhero bested such titles asBarbieandOppenheimerto lay claim to the top spot in the UK.
Black Adamalso performed well on the UK’s digital rental and Blu-ray charts. The film, whichteased Henry Cavill’s return as Superman, laid claim to the No. 3 spot in the digital rankings and No. 4 on the Blu-ray list. But Christopher Nolan’s Golden Globe-winningOppenheimertook the top spot for Blu-rays, with $1.4 million in sales. Unfortunately forBlack Adam, there never seemed to be any real interest from James Gunn or Peter Safran to include Johnson’s version of the anti-hero in their upcoming DCU.
A so-so CinemaScore (B+) didn’t help matters, but fans rallied to the cause, which resulted in a rather impressive88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. When it came to the critics, though, they scorched the earth with their scathing reviews, which resulted in the movie registering only 38% on the Tomatometer. Fans can streamBlack Adamon Max and Netflix, at the time of this writing. And check out a cool behind-the-scenes look at the history of the character below:
