Highlights
- Aquaman 2's box office performance surpasses expectations, outperforming other recent superhero films like The Marvels and The Flash.
- Despite negative reviews from critics, audiences seem to enjoy the film, driven by the strong performances of Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson.
- The film's success marks the end of an era for the DCEU, setting the stage for the new DCU under James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Aquaman 2's box office gross is doing much better than anyone predicted, even going so far as to top some other recent superhero projects that seemed unassailable for James Wan's second Jason Momoa-led underwater adventure.
Aquaman 2 seemed destined to fall short, as the landscape of the superhero movie genre had changed drastically since the first film’s successful run. 2023 was a harrowing year for the genre on both the Marvel Studios and DC Studios sides of the market, with both companies seeing terrible performance from big-budget projects that climaxed in The Marvels becoming the biggest Marvel box office flop and generally being seen as the worst outing in the genre when taking its budget into account.
With the added baggage of being part of the now-abandoned DCEU and the controversy surrounding prominent Aquaman star Amber Heard, Aquaman 2's box office projections were worse than The Marvels. However, things seem to be taking a more positive turn for the film. As reported by Deadline, despite a rough start critically and commercially leading up to its premiere, the sequel has crossed over the $100 million mark domestically, with a further $200 million in international markets to bring it up to a current worldwide box office pull of $300 million and counting against a liberal budget estimate of $215 million.
While this is a far cry from what Warner Bros. would like and an even further drop from the first film’s impressive billion-dollar pull, the box office earnings for Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom have proven the projections wrong by putting it over not just The Marvels' disappointing $205.6 million at the box office, but also exceeding fellow DCEU films The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods at the box office, with the three films putting up $270 million, $129 million, and $133 million, respectively. This is more impressive considering Aquaman 2's box office debut was worse than The Marvels and The Flash, with discouragingly low Thursday preview numbers in the lead-up to its release.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a better outing than was expected commercially. However, this has little to do with the film’s appeal to critics, who have regarded the film negatively across the board, giving Aquaman 2 one of the DCEU's worst Rotten Tomato scores. While negative, many reviews still praised Momoa's performance and his on-screen chemistry with Patrick Wilson, whose portrayal of Aquaman's brother Orm was also well-received. Other compliments fell on Wan's efforts, which were seen as ambitious in their intentions, even if not in execution. The combination of an enjoyable duo in the lead roles and the unique facets inherent to an Aquaman story might explain the relative success enjoyed by the film despite the hardships and failings noted.
The Aquaman sequel was intended as the final bow of the DCEU before the rise of James Gunn and Peter Safran's new DCU, and with David Ayer seemingly letting his cut of Suicide Squad go, The Lost Kingdom really will be the end of that era for Warner Bros. and DC. Whether or not the film's merits will influence a potential addition to Gunn's new order or simply be remembered for exceeding expectations remains to be seen.
Aquaman 2 is now playing in theaters.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Black Manta seeks revenge on Aquaman for his father's death. Wielding the Black Trident's power, he becomes a formidable foe. To defend Atlantis, Aquaman forges an alliance with his imprisoned brother. They must protect the kingdom.
Source: Deadline
