One of Shaquille O’Neal‘s array of interests is acting. In the summer of 1996, the superstar center was a free agent, but, instead of contemplating his future as anyone else would, he starred in a movie called Kazaam. That said, despite Shaq’s comically terrible performance, there seems to be a confusing myth surrounding this movie.
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A thread about a movie called Shazaam on the ‘Mandela Effect’ subreddit went viral in 2016. Many claimed to remember seeing the movie starring rapper Sinbad. However, the film does not exist, with even the rapper himself refuting its existence.
Have you noticed no one my age has seen this so called Sinbad Genie movie, only you people who were kids in the 90’s. The young mind !
— Sinbad (@sinbadbad) September 7, 2016
Despite Sinbad’s insistence and no viable proof, people continued to argue that the film exists and that they remembered seeing it. They claim the plot revolved around Sinbad, a genie, going on an adventure with two children. The alleged plot is similar to O’Neal’s movie, Kazaam, where Shaq plays a genie trapped in a bottle. A young boy accidentally releases him, and he grants him three wishes.
The movie was an absolute disaster at the box office. It was made with a budget of just $20 million, yet failed to break even as it only raked in $18.9 million in revenue, officially losing $1.1 million. To make things worse, the actual loss may actually be even higher, as the reported movie budgets do not include marketing costs. Critics also blasted the movie in the aftermath of its release, and it’s currently rated 3.1 on IMDb.
O’Neal’s first movie as the lead was a critical and commercial flop. The film is so forgettable that people remember seeing a different one with a similar-sounding name and a different actor starring as the lead. O’Neal has since gained 75 acting credits, but none is less forgettable than Kazaam.
Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t regret Kazaam
Despite critics disliking Kazaam, Shaquille O’Neal didn’t care much at all. In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment in 2020, he said the following on the matter:
“Kazaam was a movie that was supposed to be for kids. It’s not for adults — it’s for kids that are from 2 to 7, because when they see me, they think I’m magic. As long as they think I’m magic, who cares what adults say?”
He even claimed he’s willing to team up with Sinbad to make a Shazaam and Kazaam adventure movie.
People have often questioned why O’Neal agreed to do Kazaam. The plot was poor, and the then-Orlando Magic star didn’t have the acting chops to turn a bad script into a decent movie. The Hall of Famer had a simple reason to get on board. In an interview with GQ Magazine in 2012, O’Neal said,
“I was a medium-level juvenile delinquent from Newark who always dreamed about doing a movie. Someone said, ‘Hey, here’s $7 million, come in and do this genie movie.’ What am I going to say, no?”
O’Neal’s logic was sound. He earned $4.3 million a year in salary during his time with the Magic. He was due to sign a massive deal in the 1996 offseason, but an unforeseen injury could have affected that. A $7 million payday for little work was a no-brainer for O’Neal. The result was a forgettable movie, but O’Neal laughed his way to the bank with his $7 million paycheque.
