A Huge Dwayne Johnson Flop Is Getting A Second Life On Netflix

The conversation surrounding the DC flick and its failure has been nothing short of exhausting, with Dwayne Johnson candidly revealing why «Black Adam» fizzled at the box office. While it had a solid opening, the film had a reported budget north of $190 million, which means it needed to make a considerable chunk of change to be viable for Warner Bros. Previous reports have suggested that «Black Adam» needed around $600 million to break even. With a box-office haul shy of $400 million, the picture is estimated to have lost anywhere between $50 to $100 million. Ouch. 

Beyond mediocre financial receipts, «Black Adam» was ridiculed by critics upon release. It has a disheartening 38% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it a major lowlight for Johnson. Looper critic Dominic Griffin was a bit more forgiving in his 6/10 review, praising it for being at least mildly entertaining and swiftly paced. With the DC Universe rebooting under James Gunn, Johnson’s hopeful era of leading the franchise is over, with a «Black Adam» sequel now scrapped at Warner Bros.

Despite its flaws, «Black Adam» is still worth investigating as it features the cinematic debut of the Justice Society and some killer action sequences that show off Johnson’s impeccable physicality. There’s also a pretty hilarious cameo from Henry Winkler that’s worth the price of admission (or Netflix subscription) alone.