Black Adam Might Have Been Dethroned At The Box Office, But The Rock Is Thanking Fans For Its VOD Numbers

Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

It’s been wild to see Dwayne Johnson’s career progress, as the wrestler turned actor has become a powerful force in the entertainment industry. He finally stepped into the superhero genre with Jaume Collet-Serra’s Black Adam, a project that he’d been attached to for a decade. Black Adam might have been dethroned at the box office by Black Panther 2, but The Rock is thanking fans for its VOD numbers.

Black Adam has been a wild box office success, sitting at the top of the charts for weeks, until the long-awaited release of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2. Dwayne Johnson was a class act about this, congratulating the folks who worked on Wakanda Forever. And his DC flick is still making money, especially now that it’s out to watch from the comfort of people’s home. The Rock took to Twitter to celebrate the numbers his movie is already pulling in, posting:

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While Black Adam took a long time to actually be produced and released by Warner Bros. it looks like the studio has been getting a great return on its investment. Because on top of the box office number the Dwayne Johnson-led movie was able to pull in, it’s also making an additional sum of profits now that it’s arrived on VOD via iTunes and Amazon Video. And with every dollar made it seems more and likely that a sequel might come to the big screen.

Dwayne Johnson celebrated the on demand performance of Black Adam over on his personal Twitter, sharing his excitement with an outstanding 16.7 million followers. Prior to the movie’s release, he helped to buoy excitement for upcoming DC movies by teasing how his character will forever change the hierarchy of power in the DC Extended Universe. And that statement became doubly true thanks to the wild cameo that accompanied its mid-credits scene.

The release of Black Adam seemed precarious for a time there, namely because the critical consensus was so overwhelmingly negative. But that hasn’t stopped Jaume Collet-Serra’s blockbuster from making a ton of money at the box office. And the audience response has been far kinder, resulting in a wild disparity on sites like Rotten Tomatoes. And with Dwayne Johnson so invested in the character, there’s no telling where he might go in the greater DC Extended Universe– especially with new leadership at the studio in the form of James Gunn

Moviegoers are eager to see Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam crossover get involved in some crossover events with the more powerful heroes in the DCEU. Henry Cavill’s cameo as Superman seemingly set up that conflict, and a battle with Zachary Levi’s Shazam feels inevitable at this point. We’ll just have to see what the new CEOs of DC Entertainment have up their sleeves.

Black Adam is in theaters and on demand now. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year. That includes the anticipated releases of Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.