Black Adam actor Dwayne Johnson called out entertainment outlet IGN after the site posted box office numbers comparing the star's DC epic to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Ever since Black Adam hit theater screens back in October, Johnson has voiced his opinion many times when asked to compare Warner Bros.'s DCU with Marvel Studios MCU.
Thus far the WWE superstar-turned-Hollywood giant has remained fairly civil when these sorts of comparisons have come up, saying things like "there is no ‘war’" brewing between the two companies as the DCU goes through regime change.
However, as was the case back in his wrestling days, Johnson has been known to snap from time to time, and that is exactly the case here, as he calls out IGN for another MCU/DCU comparison.
Dwayne Johnson Defends Black Adam
Dwayne Johnson, star of this Fall's DC epic Black Adam, called out IGN for a social post from the entertainment outlet comparing his most recent film to Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The IGN post in question shared a graphic noting that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had already surpassed Black Adam's total box office haul in just two weeks:
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has earned over $400 million at the global box office, making it the most profitable superhero film to be released this fall. Black Adam, which came out in October, has earned $353 million at the global box office."
Johnson replied, saying "[he loves] competing," but doesn't see how Black Adam can compare with Black Panther, as the Wakandan MCU franchise is an "established global brand," while up until recently the general audience was not familiar with Black Adam and the Justice Society of America:
"IGN What a neutral post. I love competing, but IGN you guys are in the biz with us there’s no competition with the established global brand of Black Panther compared to Black Adam & JSA who a year ago no one even heard of. No need to knock us, we’re new babies and have to grow"
Does Dwayne Johnson Have a Point Here?
Dwayne Johnson may be correct in saying that Black Adam is a fairly new property to the general audience, thus why the box office returns on the film may not have been the best, but that does not give him the right to call out an outlet just reporting the news.
If Johnson's DC epic did not light the world on fire because people did not know the IP all that well, then what would he have to say for the original Black Panther?
Sure, the character was set up a little bit before going into that 2018 MCU blockbuster, but he was still a relative unknown to most. Despite that, the original film ended up grossing more than a billion dollars at the box office, becoming one of the biggest MCU movies to date.
Perhaps if Johnson's long-gestating DCU debut had been an overall better movie, it would have had the legs of something like Wakanda Forever.
This whole thing comes off as very petty from the Black Adam star. For a guy who has been touting that he doesn't think about competition between Marvel and DC, this tweet certainly makes it feels like he does.
Both Black Adam and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are in theaters worldwide now.
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