Film Friday: "Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom," is Here, but Do People Care Anymore?

James Gunn and Peter Safran have taken over DC and are rebooting the whole cinematic universe. That said, when they came in some flicks were wrapping and needed to come out. For example, the Shazam sequel had a rough first weekend...and a generally drab theatrical run. This has reduced movie such as, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," to being afterthoughts. The first, "Aquaman," was by all accounts a fun time and reviews for the sequel have found it anywhere from really bad to slightly decent to quite good, but it doesn't matter anymore. 

This version of the DC Universe as we know it is done, stick a fork in it. Jason Momoa may be back as a whole new character (the Lobo rumors won't stop) but this iteration of Aquaman is finished. Minimal promotion has been done for the movie compared to other superhero blockbusters and it isn't even getting a red carpet premiere. It is the end of an era for DC's movies and they're ending with a bit of a quiet whimper. Whether this will do okay and skate by financially on the charm of Momoa or end up bombing like, "The Flash," remains to be seen. The DC Cinematic Universe is dead, long live the new DC Cinematic Universe.

The, "Shazam," Sequel Had a Rough First Weekend

"Shazam: Fury of the Gods," opened in first place at the domestic box office. That would sound impressive, but it actually made less than was projected--and the projections weren't that high. The latest Shazam flick is a flop, in other words.

Apparently, it is an okay film, if not as fun as the first according to reviews. Why did it falter? Are James Gunn and Peter Safran to blame with the big DC reboot coming and making this movie feel utterly inconsequential? Is Dwayne, "The Rock," Johnson the big culprit? Will people break out that old refrain that, "Hey, maybe folks are tired of superhero films?" even though that keeps being said anytime a movie stumbles and then gets dropped when another one does gangbusters? 

I don't know why the Shazam sequel clearly struggled with its debut and if it even really matters for DC's plans going forward. I just feel a bit bad for director David F. Sandberg who was bummed by the critical reviews and is, "...definitely done with superheroes for now." Ouch. Anways, I liked the first movie and will probably stream this when it comes to HBO MAX or whatever, but I'm not in a rush to see it in theaters. Wait, maybe people like me were the problem? Eh, who knows?