DC’s James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is headed for one of the lowest starts in the history of the DC Cinematic Universe with a projected four-day Christmas weekend gross in the $40 million to $45 million range. The good news: It can still claim a No. 1 finish and is faring slightly better than leading tracking services had predicted.
The movie earned an estimated $13.7 million Friday from 3,706 theaters, including $4.5 million in Thursday previews. Hollywood studios are never happy when Christmas Day falls on a Monday since the weekend box office has to compete with final Christmas preparations, including travel and gift buying.
However, Aquaman 2 has larger issues than just that. The big-budget tentpole, reteaming Wan and star Jason Momoa, has been largely rebuked by critics and only earned a B CinemaScore from audiences. The sequel, which faced a troubled road to the big screen, marks the end of an era as new DC chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran reboot the DC Universe with 2025’s Superman: Legacy. (Momoa himself has all but said there won’t be an Aquaman threequel.)
In 2018, the first Aquaman was the king of the year-end holiday when swimming to a three-day opening of $67.9 million over the Dec. 21-23 weekend. Through Christmas Day — a Tuesday that year — its domestic tally was a rousing $105.4 million (that included several million in special sneak peeks the previous weekend). The movie went on to earn $335.1 million domestically and $1.15 billion globally, the best showing ever for a DCEU title, not adjusted for inflation.
Wan’s movie lends further credence to the superhero fatigue theory. Even the most ardent fanboys are weary. Aquaman 2 is also trailing the recent $46.1 million opening of box office debacle The Marvels, from rival Marvel Studios.
A slew of other films also opened Friday. Warners has no fewer than three year-end holiday event movies — Aquaman, Wonka, which opened…
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