Dwayne Johnson says Black Adam is making profits, ends up embarrassing himself

Black Adam has been a hot topic on the internet for all the wrong reasons and could not soar as high as Dwayne Johnson and Warner Bros. Discovery would have wanted, according to several reports. While calculations suggest that it may lose a lot of money, the Rock and several other sources claim that it isn’t a failure at all. In fact, it will end up turning in a sizable profit for the studio.

Initial reports from THR laid down vital information about its numbers. According to the trade, Black Adam should have made $600 million to break even, but it will barely touch $400 million and result in a substantial loss. This report has seemingly been disproven.

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The truth behind Black Adam’s Profit/Loss

Dwayne Johnson as Teth Adam (image via DC)

With a $195 million production budget and about $100 million spent on marketing, Black Adam’s total cost came to almost $300 million. However, its worldwide box office total only stands at $384 million. Hence, deducting a rough 50% cut of the theaters, the studio would get around 192-$195 million. This practically means that Black Adam loses around $100 million.

However, a WB representative claimed that Black Adam only needed $400 million to break even instead of $600 million. According to Deadline and the Rock, the movie will be saved by its home video release and streaming release. The outlet claims that outside of the theatrical numbers, the film is supposed to make around $200 million from digital and streaming rentals.

The breakdown of the same is as follows:

Black Adam's Profit and Loss (image via Deadline)

All in all, the final verdict is that the movie has been saved, and WB’s decision to release the film on PVOD just one month after its theatrical release has worked. The film has been topping the charts on iTunes and other portals ever since its digital release. Ultimately, the film will not lose money and turn in a total profit of $52 million.

It is important to note that the earnings that come from PVOD and streaming are usually a surplus bonus for the studio. So, the movie being saved by these bonus earnings could be seen as embarrassing for a movie that was supposed to change the hierarchy of the DC Universe.

A film is considered a success when it turns out to be profitable in theaters and then adds to the profit made through its PVOD release. So technically, THR’s report is accurate as Black Adam’s theatrical run hasn’t been profitable. However, at the same time, Deadline’s report and WB’s claims are also valid after factoring in each and every penny spent and earned.

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Fans react to Dwayne Johnson’s claim

After THR’s article claimed that the film would lose money, the Rock came to put the fire out by sharing Deadline’s article on Twitter. He believes that Black Adam is a major success and several fans questioned Deadline’s math and his defensiveness.

Dwayne Johnson took to Twitter on December 8, 2022, and wrote:

"Waited to confirm with financiers before I shared this excellent #BlackAdam news - our film will PROFIT between $52M-$72M. Fact. At almost $400M worldwide we are building our new franchise step by step (first Captain America did $370M) for the DC future."

Even though the film is “not losing money,” the chances of a sequel are very few, especially with Gunn’s vision coming into play.

Apart from Dwayne Johnson, the film also featured Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, and more in pivotal roles.