After The Flash bombed, Dwayne Johnson may have been onto something when making his case for why Black Adam was a financial success despite being seen as a box office failure upon its release.
Following the Discovery merger with Warner Bros. That saw WBD CEO David Zaslav shelve Batgirl and remove previous WB President Walter Hamada, Black Adam, a film part of the previous WB regime, was still on the horizon after the financial failures of Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Suicide Squad. This was largely due to the latter two releasing day-and-date on HBO Max because of the pandemic and arguably because those previous entries were the beginning of the poorly planned DCEU soft reboot. So, Black Adam had to prove itself to the new WBD CEO to justify the future Johnson envisioned for his corner of the franchise.
Black Adam was still thrown under the bus despite the film doing better than the previous three DCEU films. However, because the following two DCEU films, Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash, only matched Black Adam financially in combined revenue, the failure of Black Adam is now being revisited by some. While this wouldn’t free Black Adam from being a box office failure alone, the fact that the film had a gross of $390 million globally, without a China release, seems to have re-contextualized the film's success. These details may not have mattered to WB because of their reluctance to move forward with the Snyderverse, seeing as how Black Adam brought back Henry Cavill's Superman for the first time since Zack Snyder’s Justice League, despite WB wanting to recast the character. Of course, it is arguable that studios don't spend a reported $190–260 million to earn $52-$72 million in profits, especially since Johnson's figures were reportedly disputable (via Puck).
Compared to The Flash's box office gross, Black Adam's success or failure may not be so cut and dry in retrospect. Since then, Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash experienced a box office decline that falls on various outside factors that some fans think are detrimental to the brand's success. These factors include WB releasing and standing by the theatrical cut of Justice League, labeling Zack Snyder’s Justice League a “cul-de-sac” upon its release, Zaslav axing Batgirl, DC Studios CEO James Gunn's announcement of another soft reboot, and the overall industry business model that envisions a philosophical shift from art to content reflected in the rise of streaming juxtaposed to the theater experience.
What has transpired with Black Adam, regarding the conflict between Johnson and WB, is just one piece of the downward spiral of DC that some fans believe began with WB cutting 30 minutes from the theatrical release of Batman v Superman in hopes that it would make the film more profitable, which only amounted to poor critical reception that then made the studio double down on their meddling with the following DCEU films. Now, the future of DC looks bleak under a studio $49 billion in debt during a writers’ strike, which WB may be responsible for, with no foreseeable end to it in sight unless Blue Beetle, Aquaman 2, or Gunn's DCU can break this streak.
The Flash is now playing in theaters.
Source: MyTimeToShineHello, Dwayne Johnson, Puck