Shazam’s name comes from the magic word the hero shouts to transform. Each letter corresponds to a figure from antiquity from whom Shazam’s power stems. The “S” stands for the wisdom of Solomon, the “H” for the strength of Hercules and so on.
Maybe if that magical name had incorporated an extra letter—another “M” for the money of legendary king Midas—Shazam! Fury of the Gods would’ve done better at the box office.
Now, admittedly, Shazam! Fury of the Gods did win this weekend. It did collect an estimated $30.5 million in North America alone (not to mention another $35 million overseas). And for most of us, that’d be a good weekend’s worth of work. But that’s less than Warner Bros.’ modest opening-weekend expectations for the film, and it’s way off the...