Black Adam’s Performance Proves Johnson Needs To Change His Formula
Like Arnie or Sly before him – who had their own equations for success – Dwayne Johnson’s movie star formula has started to run thin. Red Notice may have been a streaming success but it received a broadly negative critical response, and it felt very tired next to some of Johnson’s other hits. The latest sign is the response to Black Adam, with the DC superhero project starting strong at the box office but soon faltering due to lackluster word of mouth. Johnson himself had hyped Black Adam as a major new figure in the DCU, but it looks unlikely it will spawn a sequel now.In response to reports that Black Adam would bomb, Johnson even took to social media to refute those claims, stating it would turn a modest profit. Regardless, Black Adam isn’t the box office bonanza Johnson or Warner Bros were hoping for and is a warning sign the star must evolve his formula. If he keeps insisting on hitting the same key beats, audiences will eventually tire of it, especially if every Johnson movie starts to look the same. He can start by loosening some of his own restrictions, including working with auteur directors and seeking the occasional, lower-budget project.
