DCEU in Trouble: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s Slow Start of $28 Million
The Aquaman sequel had an intensive marketing campaign to build up hype for the much-anticipated final installment of the DC Extended Universe. But things did not go as expected when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) debuted.
It has now been bestowed the title of one of the worst-performing films in the DCEU. It only earned a meager $28 million on its first weekend.
The sequel was projected to open between $32 and $42 million, but unfortunately, it did not even meet the lowest of the projections. And now, the movie is forecasted to take in around $40 million thanks to the four-day holiday weekend since Christmas fell on a Monday this year.
These numbers are quite low in DCEU’s history and standards. Recall that the only other movies that debuted lower than $28 million are The Suicide Squad (2021), which opened at $26.2 million; Blue Beetle (2023), which earned $25 million; and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), which earned $16.4 million.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom also marks the end of the DCEU. Fans can anticipate a new phase by 2025, now headed by Peter Safran and James Gunn. Superman: Legacy is set to be released on July 11th of that year.
Jason Momoa has led both Aquaman films. The 2023 sequel opened in almost 3,706 theaters, gaining a decent revenue of $7,582 per-screen average during its opening weekend. But this number is a far cry compared to its predecessor that was released in 2018—it debuted with a whopping $67.8 million on its release weekend.
It continued to gross domestically, reaching $335.1 million and then $1.152 billion globally. The first Aquaman was the very first DCEU movie that reached and surpassed the $1 billion mark.
Based on its soft opening, producers and movie analysts expect the second installment to be a colossal flop. The budget to produce and market this film was reportedly more than $200 million, far from reaching even 50% of this investment.
It did a little better with foreign markets. Overseas gains added $80 million to its revenue, closing its global debut at $120 million.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was able to dethrone Wonka, which was last weekend’s winner, as it slipped into second place with $17.7 million. The movie also fought with other newcomer movies. It beat Migration, Universal’s animated comedy, which earned $12.3 million on its debut weekend and was shown in 3,761 theaters.
Sony’s holiday romantic comedy Anyone But You snagged the fourth spot with $6.2 million from 3,055 theaters, and Salaar took the fifth, which grossed $6.2 million as well.
The other movies included in the Top 10 for the week are The Iron Claw, which raked in $5 million; The Boy and the Heron with $3.1 million gross; The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes with $3.1 million, Godzilla Minus One earning $2.7 million, and Poor Things with $2.1 million.
With the long Christmas weekend done, there are more new movies that enthusiasts can look forward to, such as the much-anticipated The Color Purple and Ferrari.
This year’s winner for the highest-grossing movie is Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, which clocked an impressive $636.2 million domestically ($162 million on its opening weekend).
