After last year’s commercially underwhelming Justice League, the pressure’s now on for Aquaman to get the DCEU back on track at the box office, and if you want a better idea of the sort of financial stakes we’re dealing with here, it was revealed earlier this week that Arthur Curry’s standalone debut has cost Warner Bros. a cool $200 million.
It sounds like a big number, and it is when compared to the majority of films out there, but it seems like the studio can breathe a sigh of relief today, as James Wan’s aquatic adventure is off to a smashing start. Aquaman may not hit theaters in the US until December 21st, but it’s already playing over in China and we’re now learning that it pulled in a whopping $93.6 million during its first weekend there.
That makes it the biggest opening for a DC film in the Middle Kingdom and also the biggest Warner Bros. opening in the region. Combine that with a wave of glowing reviews that emerged on social media last month, along with many people going as far as to name Aquaman the DCEU’s best offering to date, and things are certainly looking good for the pic’s US debut.
Speaking of which, North American box office projections are pretty strong as well, with reports saying that Arthur Curry’s standalone outing will rake in $65 million domestically in its first three days, and around $100 million total over the course of the full five-day holiday weekend. Pretty impressive, especially when you consider the commercial disappointment that was last year’s Justice League.
And so, while the future may be a bit hazy for several of the ensemble actioner’s stars, it seems there could be further life in the Arthur Curry saga yet. Not only that, but if Jason Momoa’s recent statements are anything to go by, then it sounds like the star’s more than happy to stick around for sequels. But before we get too ahead of ourselves, we’ll first need to see if Aquaman can truly deliver on the hype when the film hits North American theaters on December 21st.
