Is Black Adam Going To Break The $1 Billion Barrier?

Black Adam's box office performance could mean the DCU movie will break the $1 billion barrier. Here is how likely it is for The Rock's film.
Black Adam's box office is being compared to Aquaman, meaning the DC Universe could have another $1 billion movie in the future. Even though the original D.C.E.U movies repeatedly exceeded the box office earnings of the earlier M.C.U entries, the box office hauls have always been scrutinized. Wonder Woman and Aquaman represented two of the DC's major wins, and there was a belief that Black Adam could also perform well with a superstar like Dwayne Johnson at the forefront. The movie's box office has so far been excellent, leaving more questions about just how high up the charts the DC film could climb.

Now that two weekends have passed where the film has performed strongly, whether Black Adam will make $1 billion at the box office is becoming a more intriguing possibility. The speculation about Black Adam hitting this box office milestone comes from the film opening on par with Aquaman, which is the only D.C.U movie to make a billion dollars (since Joker is separate). Dwayne Johnson's DC movie is the first since Shazam in 2019 to make more than $100 million domestically. It has also surpassed $250M worldwide at the time of making this video, meaning it is a fourth of the way to making $1 billion in just over a week.

Can Black Adam Really Make $1 Billion?
The chances of Black Adam making $1 billion are not that high realistically. Taking a closer look at the Black Adam and Aquaman box office comparisons, Jason Momoa's solo movie crossed $100M domestically in half the time that it took Dwayne Johnson's DC debut. This is partially attributed to Aquaman opening over the Christmas holiday, allowing families to flock to theatres to enjoy the spectacle-filled adventure. While Black Adam does not have much competition at the box office, it is lagging behind. The Aquaman solo film did get a huge boost internationally, especially as it made nearly $300M alone in China, where Black Adam has not opened yet.

There are several factors working against Black Adam's favor to make $1 billion too. The film has been met with harsh critical reviews, even if audiences are more positive about it. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios' highly-anticipated sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theatres shortly and will likely take away a lot of attention. The latest projections expect Black Adam's box office run to finish with nearly $400M, well below the elusive $1 billion milestone for DC. This would also be the second-lowest-grossing D.C.U movie, excluding COVID releases in Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad. The only real way Black Adam will break $1 billion is if it has incredible legs and manages to overperform in Japan and China.

What would it mean for DC if Black Adam breaks the $1 Billion Barrier?
On the outside chance that Black Adam does break the $1 billion barrier, it would be an unquestionable huge win for DC Studios, now run by James Gunn and Peter Safran. The new co-CEOs would surely look at the movie and lead character as pillars of DC's future that could support sequels, spinoffs, and other DC movies like Black Adam. Furthermore, this would be a sign that audiences around the world are still heavily invested in what DC is doing and seeing what will come next, which might still be true even if Black Adam does not make $1 billion at the box office.