Highlights
- Aquaman fans can mark their calendars for December 22, 2023, as that's when the highly anticipated sequel will hit theaters.
- Warner Bros. Pictures has announced the release date for Aquaman 2, bringing another thrilling underwater adventure to the big screen.
- With excitement building for the sequel, fans eagerly await more details and updates on the next chapter in Aquaman's epic saga.
The Aquaman 2 release date has been delayed by Warner Bros. Fortunately, DC fans won't have to wait as long as required by previous postponements.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom follows Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry and Patrick Wilson's Orm as they form an unlikely alliance to defend Atlantis from an ancient power unleashed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Black Manta. Fans have waited a long time to see this adventure unfold, as Aquaman 2 has been delayed multiple times since its initial December 2022 release date. While reports suggest Aquaman 2 would keep its most recent release date, a fourth postponement was announced by Warner Bros. nearly two months ahead of the DC film's premiere.
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The Aquaman release 2 date has been delayed by two days, shifting from Wednesday, December 20, to Friday, December 22, 2023. The decision gives Aquaman 2 a more traditional 3-day opening weekend as opposed to the five-day debut initially planned. Consequently, Aquaman 2 can capture more box office gross closer to Christmas Day Monday, a reliably busy period for moviegoers on holidays. The shift also puts more distance between Aquaman 2 and Timothée Chalamet's Willy Wonka prequel, another Warner Bros. film that's slated to premiere in theaters on December 15.
The first Aquaman movie experienced record-breaking box office after opening during a similar period in 2018. Releasing theatrically on December 21 of that year, Aquaman earned $105.7 million over its five-day opening. It remained the number-one film at the box office for three consecutive weekends, crossing the $1 billion mark by its fourth weekend and becoming the highest-grossing DC film. A sequel was inevitable, but Aquaman 2's box office fortunes may not be as lucrative due to some considerable changes at Warner Bros. and DC since the first film's release.
Since Aquaman premiered in 2018, Warner Bros. and DC have experienced a wave of box office disappointments or outright bombs. While Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad's box office performances could be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and Warner Bros.' decision to release them on HBO Max on the same day as their theatrical release, recent flops like Shazam 2 and The Flash aren't as easy to explain away.
Warner Bros. and DC's string of failures aren't the only reasons some fans are concerned about Aquaman 2. James Gunn's appointment to DC Studios' co-CEO and his decision to reboot the DCEU into the DC Universe has prompted concerns that audiences won't see the point of watching Aquaman 2 when it's unclear if Momoa's character will remain canon. Plus, Aquaman 2 test screenings have reportedly gone poorly, and the controversy surrounding Amber Heard remains a sore point for some fans. These factors, combined with the general sense of superhero movie fatigue, leave some fans wondering if Aquaman 2 is doomed to suffer a box office crash.
Aquaman 2 will be released in theaters on December 22, 2023.
Source: Warner Bros. Pictures