Jason
Momoa
stars
as
Arthur
Curry,
aka
Aquaman,
in
Warner
Bros.’
“Aquaman
and
the
Lost
Kingdom.”
Warner
Bros.
Discovery
“Aquaman
and
the
Lost
Kingdom”
dog-paddled
to
a
$28.1
million
domestic
opening,
the
fourth-lowest
in
the
history
of
the
DC
Extended
Universe.
The
film
was expected
to
open
between
$32
million
and
$42
million.
As
it
stands,
the
$28
million
estimate
from
Warner
Bros.
Discovery
is
less
than
half
of
the
$67.8
million
the
first
“Aquaman”
movie
brought
in
during
its
2018
debut
weekend.
The
film,
likely
Jason
Momoa’s
last
turn
at
the
titular
aquatic
hero,
is
expected
to
secure
around
$40
million
in
ticket
sales
over
the
four-day
Christmas
holiday
weekend.
The
weekend
performance
of
“Aquaman
and
the
Lost
Kingdom”
is
on
par
with
Warner
Bros.’
DC
franchise
in
recent
years.
Only
one
film
from
the
franchise
has
debuted
with
more
than
$60
million
in
ticket
sales
since
2018
—
“Black
Adam”
took
in
$67
million
in
early
2022,
according
to
data
from
Comscore.
DC
Extended
Universe
film
openings
-
“Wonder
Woman
1984”
(2020)
—
$16.7
million -
“Blue
Beetle”
(2023)
—
$25
million -
“The
Suicide
Squad”
(2021)
—
$26.2
million -
“Aquaman
and
the
Lost
Kingdom”
(2023)
—
$28.1
million -
“Shazam!
Fury
of
the
Gods”
(2023)
—
$30.1
million -
“Birds
of
Prey”
(2020)
—
$33
million -
“Shazam!”
(2019)
—
$53.5
million -
“The
Flash”
(2023)
—
$55
million -
“Black
Adam”
(2022)
—
$67
million -
“Aquaman”
(2018)
—
$67.8
million -
“Justice
League”
(2017)
—
$93.8
million -
“Wonder
Woman”
(2017)
—
$103.2
million -
“Man
of
Steel”
(2013)
—
$116.6
million -
“Suicide
Squad”
(2016)
—
$133.6
million -
“Batman
v.
Superman:
Dawn
of
Justice”
(2016)
—
$166
million
Source:
Comscore
The
$28
million
estimated
opening
haul
is
smaller
than
the
$30.1
million
“Shazam!
Fury
of
the
Gods”
tallied
earlier
this
year.
Notably,
the
second
“Shazam!”
film
only
managed
to
collect
$57.6
million
domestically
and
$133
million
globally
during
its
run
in
theaters.
“Aquaman
and
the
Lost
Kingdom”
added
$80.1
million
from
international
ticket
sales
Friday
through
Sunday,
bringing
its
total
expected
global
take
to
$120
million
(including
the
domestic
Christmas
expectations
for
Monday).
The
first
“Aquaman”
also
benefited
from
international
ticket
sales
back
in
2018.
More
than
70%
of
its
$1.15
billion
box
office
came
from
markets
outside
the
U.S.
and
Canada,
according
to
Comscore
data.
Notably,
“Aquaman”
is
the
highest-grossing
film
in
the
DC
Extended
Universe
franchise
and
no
DCEU
film
has
generated
more
than
$400
million
at
the
global
box
office
since
that
film
was
released.
The
franchise
has
suffered
from
lackluster
quality,
as
critics
have
balked
at
CGI-heavy
action
sequences
and
disjointed
attempts
at
bringing
heroes
together
for
team-ups.
Pandemic-era
restrictions
also
led
to
smaller
box
office
openings
in
2020
and
2021.
Even
as
those
restrictions
have
lifted
and
audiences
have
returned
to
theaters,
the
DCEU
has
struggled
to
lure
back
even
its
most
ardent
fans.
This
was
exacerbated
earlier
this
year
when
Warner
Bros.
Discovery
announced
that
the
entire
franchise
would
be
rebooted
in
2025
by
the
newly
minted
heads
of
DC
Studios,
James
Gunn
and
Peter
Safran.
The
planned
reboot
dismayed
fans,
who
believe
that
“Shazam!
Fury
of
the
Gods,”
“Blue
Beetle,”
“The
Flash”
and
“Aquaman
and
the
Lost
Kingdom”
—
all
released
after
the
announcement
—
would
have
no
connection
to
future
DC
projects
and
were
not
must-see
theatrical
experiences.
One
bright
spot
for
the
“Aquaman”
sequel
is
that
it
faces
limited
competition
in
theaters
next
week
and
could
benefit
from
the
upcoming
holidays,
as
school
vacations
have
parents
seeking
out-of-home
entertainment.
“While
so-called
superhero
fatigue
may
be
in
play
for
many
films
of
the
genre
in
2023,
resulting
in
lower-than-expected
opening
weekend
results,
films
that
open
in
late
December
such
as
‘Aquaman
2’
often
play
the
long
game
and
draw
their
audiences
throughout
the
holiday
and
into
the
new
year,”
said
Paul
Dergarabedian,
senior
media
analyst
at
Comscore.
