Highlights
- Aquaman 2 is projected to flop at the box office and join the list of comic book movie disasters.
- The film is expected to earn significantly less than the first Aquaman and potentially less than The Marvels.
- Despite possible international success, the movie's domestic performance is likely to disappoint, signaling superhero fatigue and DC's decline.
Aquaman 2 is projected to lose big time at the box office this December and will likely become another in a long string of comic book movie disasters, potentially faring worse than The Marvels.
Aquaman was a surprise blockbuster smash hit, grossing over a billion dollars worldwide and $335 million in the US. However, a lot has changed for DC since the first Aquaman movie was released in 2018. Today, audiences suffer from superhero fatigue due to an oversaturation of content from both Marvel and DC, resulting in recent flops like The Marvels, which opened to a pathetic $47 million its first weekend despite decent positive reviews from critics.
Not only is Aquaman 2 projected to earn a small fraction of the first film's revenue, but recent predictions suggest it may earn less than The Marvels. According to Boxoffice Pro, the Aquaman sequel will debut in the $32-$42 million range on opening weekend, with the best-case scenario still five million shy of The Marvels' opening weekend numbers. This forecast is another upset for superhero fans, given that The Marvels had the worst MCU opening weekend in history. In pre-sales, The Lost Kingdom is tracking only 25% ahead of Shazam! Fury of the Gods—another massive DC dud from earlier in the year. According to Boxoffice Pro, the domestic total for Aquaman 2 is in the $105-$168 million range.
Although the new Aquaman appears to be hurdling toward disappointment, it is still projected to earn more than DC's latest, Blue Beetle, which kicked off with an even more pitiful $25 million on its opening weekend. There is also some hope that James Wan's Aquaman 2, in which Jason Momoa and Amber Heard reprising their roles, will succeed internationally, even if it bombs domestically. A large portion of the first Aquaman's billion-dollar global box office came from international sales, with a whopping $292 million reportedly coming from China alone, setting a record for sales in the country. Additionally, it may be promising that the second Aquaman faces a lean holiday slate similar to the first, meaning it won't face much major competition in theaters.
While there are a few small glimmers of hope in The Lost Kingdom's future, most signs point towards another lackluster debut this Christmas. Initially set to premiere in December 2022, the Aquaman follow-up was developed before the studio's sharp decline in ticket sales and James Gunn's take-over of DC. Wan's new film will test the superhero fatigue of moviegoers and may indicate the fate of comic book adaptations, or worse, become proof of DC's bygone success.
Aquaman 2 will be released in theaters on December 22nd, 2023.
DC
DC is a brand of superhero comics, television shows, movies, video games, merchandise, and more. The company owns the rights to popular characters like Batman, The Suicide Squad, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, and many more.
Source: Boxoffice Pro
