“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is projected to have an even worse opening than “The Marvels.”
The “Aquaman” sequel opens on Friday, December 22. It is currently estimated to bring in $37 million to $43 million at the domestic box office over the four-day Christmas weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In comparison, the box office bomb that was the female-led sequel to “Captain Marvel” debuted to a $46.1 million opening weekend in November.
The Jason Momoa-led sequel from DC and Warner Bros. has a storyline that focuses on Aquaman balancing his “duties as king and as a member of the Justice League, all while planning a wedding,” a description of the film read. “Black Manta is on the hunt for Atlantean tech to help rebuild his armor. Orm plots to escape his Atlantean prison.”
‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Review: The DCEU Goes Belly-Up With One Last Disappointment https://t.co/GC03HJgXcr
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) December 21, 2023
If estimates are correct, the upcoming sequel will not only do worse than Marvel’s latest movie but also generate less than the original “Aquaman” did in 2018 when it scored $105.4 million over the four-day Christmas holiday weekend, the outlet noted.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP
However, despite the low box office projections, “Aquaman 2” is expected to be at the top of the box office due to what is expected to be a weak Christmas weekend flanked by “Wonka” and the Oprah Winfrey Broadway musical adaptation of “The Color of Purple,” both from Warner Bros.
Superhero movies have mostly struggled this year, with DC already suffering a blow with “The Flash,” which debuted in June at $55 million and ended up making $108 million at the domestic box office.
The superhero movie starred troubled actor Ezra Miller, which some say could’ve led to the movie’s dismal numbers. Warner Bros. had a challenging time promoting the film due to controversies involving Miller in the months leading up to the release after he faced multiple accusations of criminal activity. The studio partially relied on word of mouth to publicize “The Flash” and the then-inherent popularity of the superhero genre.
In November, “The Marvels” suffered the worst opening weekend in Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise history and the worst second-weekend drop of all time for Marvel Studios, beating out the previous holder “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantamania.”
The Brie Larson-led film fell 78% in box office performance for its second weekend out and had the worst-ever box office drop for any modern-day Hollywood superhero film, The Hollywood Reporter noted.