Shazam is winning the box-office (and hearts) against Hellboy

Warner Bros.’s “Shazam!” made $25.1 million domestically, a solid sum that kept it in first place after a strong debut last weekend.

Its success is great news for Warner Bros. The risky move from the dark, gloomy tone in Dawn of Justice to a much light-hearted take on the superhero genre in form of Shazam paid them back generously with the movie raking in double the money it cost to make in the first place. It grossed $258.8 million on its opening weekend worldwide while costing them only around $100 million to produce.

On the other hand, Hellboy, earned a meager $12 million in North American theaters this weekend, failing positive predictions and not meeting expectations. Previously directed by Guillermo del Toro, the new “Hellboy” was directed by Neil Marshall. It had a production budget of $50 million. It was not able to keep up its hype despite catchy punchlines and flashy superpowers. It has pathetic reviews on IMDb.

Shazam is dominating the box office with audience and critics loving the story of a teenager (played by Asher Angel) who can transform into a hero with an adult body (played by Zachary Levi) just by uttering the word “shazam.” It stands strong with a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.