Black Adam Will Turn A Profit, The Rock Says

[UPDATE] Deadline is reporting that Black Adam will turn a profit of about $52 million or more when all revenue factors are taken into account. The movie is expected to make $390 million in theaters worldwide, against a production cost of $195 million and a marketing spend of as much as $100 million. With all of that combined, Black Adam could make a net profit of between $52 million-$72 million, Deadline reported. You can see the full P&L sheet for Black Adam over at Deadline.

The original story follows below.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's superhero movie Black Adam appears to be a theatrical flop. According to Variety, the movie could lose as much as $100 million from its theatrical run. However, the film is expected to turn a profit when all revenue streams are factored in down the road.

Getting into the numbers, Black Adam cost $195 million to produce, the site said. Then there was as much as $100 million in marketing spend, according to Variety. The movie needs to earn around $600 million globally to break even, the site's sources said.

So far, Black Adam has earned $385 million worldwide, and box office experts told Variety that the film won't likely be able to cross $400 million. As a result, Black Adam could lose between $50 million and $100 million during its theatrical run.

Not everyone agrees with this estimate, though, as sources within Warner Bros. told Variety that Black Adam could break even at $400 million.

Black Adam's theatrical performance is just one element of its overall profitability profile. The film has already "over-performed projections" for its home video release, Variety reported. Also, any film's "ancillary revenue," that is, money a movie makes outside of theaters, is now more profitable thanks to films having generally shorter periods of time in theaters.

With these ancillary revenues added in (up to $35 million from home video sales, Variety said), Black Adam will turn a profit, the site reported. Then there is the inevitable HBO Max release that will help expand the film's profile and bring it to more viewers in more places.

And very importantly, Variety reminds us that the majority of movies lose money during their time in theaters. Movies tend to turn a profit only after revenue from home video, streaming, rentals, and consumer products are factored in. "There's also value in establishing a piece of intellectual property cinematically that isn't always reflected on a balance sheet," Variety reported.

Black Adam was originally rated R and had even more violent kill scenes.