Black Adam was released on HBO Max shortly after it was released in theatres, and it is still available to watch like many other DCEU films.
Although Black Adam had to face numerous delays during its production and filming, it was finally released in theatres in the United States in 2022.
However, this theatrical release was not as successful as expected and Black Adam was released on the HBO Max streaming service shortly after its theatrical release. The film is still available on the streaming platform.
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About Black Adam’s theatrical release
When it was first announced that the popular 2019 film Shazam! would be getting an anti-hero focused spin-off with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the lead, many people could not wait for Black Adam to finally hit theatres.
While Johnson already signed up to play the character in 2014, the production process for Black Adam did not start until 2019 and the original release date in 2021 also had to be postponed on account of COVID-19 related delays.
Fortunately, Black Adam finally premiered in Mexico City on 3 October 2022 and then had its theatrical release in the United States on 21 October 2022.
Is Black Adam on HBO Max?
While Black Adam’s opening weekend in theatres looked promising and the film managed to rake in $67 million in ticket sales within its first weekend and about $137.4 million three weeks later, it still fell short compared to other DCEU films from recent years.
In reality, Black Adam reportedly had a budget of $200 million before the costs of marketing and distribution for the film.
Thus, when it only managed to make about $168.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $224.8 million in other countries across the globe, the film was widely considered one of the biggest box-office bombs of the season, even though Warner Bros. and Johnson himself disputed the claims that the film led to major losses for the studio.
In the end, it is estimated that Black Adam made a profit of around $52 million to $72 million in the course of its run in the theatres. This is not even close to what most experts expect these kinds of high-profile action movies to make.
Fortunately, Black Adam was released on the HBO Max streaming service on 16 December 2022, just 57 days after it was released in theatres.
Black Adam is still available to stream on the HBO Max platform and the hope is that this will increase the viewership of the film significantly.
HBO Max is available from $9.99 per month and even through free trials on other services like Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
| Hulu with HBO Max |
What is Black Adam about?
Black Adam starts out as Teth Adam – an ancient Egyptian imbued with powers from the gods. However, when he starts using his Shazam-like powers for evil instead of protecting his kingdom, he is imprisoned.
Thousands of years later, archaeologists free Adam in the hopes that he will help save Kahndaq.
But he exacts his own form of justice instead and takes out his rage on members of the Justice Society, including Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone.
Is Black Adam worth the watch if it bombed in the box-office?
Although Black Adam did not reach the kind of success that everyone expected from its run in theatres, the film is not all bad.
If you are already an HBO Max subscriber, Black Adam may be worth the watch for the action scenes alone, since he is one of the most powerful characters in the entire DCEU franchise.
In fact, the film even reached the number one spot for the most popular film on the HBO Max platform when it was first released and although Johnson’s inexperience in such a strong dramatic lead role is definitely evident in the film, the writing and pacing is on par with most of the other modern DCEU films that have been released in the last few years.
Other superhero films to watch on HBO Max
Whether you decide to watch Black Adam on the HBO Max platform or not, there are plenty of other superhero films on the platform for you to choose from.
The selection of comic book adaptations on the platform ranges from classics like the Tim Burton-directed Batman or Hellboy, which was directed by Guillermo del Toro, to more recent releases such as The Batman.
HBO Max has become the hub for a lot of DCEU content and some of the other superhero films available on HBO Max include:
- The Dark Knight
- Man of Steel
- Wonder Woman
- Suicide Squad
- Batman Forever
- And many of the Justice League films and animations
