Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom splashed down on Digital platforms in the U.S. earlier this week, but the movie is still making money overseas. In fact, with this weekend taking its global cume to $412.7 million, the final DCEU movie has achieved a feat not a single other release in this franchise has managed in half a decade.
Yes, not since 2018's Aquaman has a DCEU title managed to pass $400 million worldwide!
Even taking the pandemic into account, that's a staggering statistic and one which better explains why Warner Bros. is now starting from scratch with DC Studios and the DCU.
As far as we're aware, Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry won't have a place in that shared world, though the actor might get to play Lobo instead. James Gunn and Peter Safran might want to find a place for the actor somewhere as he's clearly a box office draw (the same could perhaps also be said for Aquaman himself at this point too).
Here's how each DCEU movie has performed since Aquaman's $1.1 billion success five years ago:
Shazam! (2019) - $363.5 million
Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (2020) - $201 million
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) - $166.3 million
The Suicide Squad (2021) - $167 million
Black Adam (2022) - $390.4 million
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) - $132.2 million
The Flash (2023) - $266.5 million
Blue Beetle (2023) - $128.7 million
Both Joker and The Batman were vastly more successful than all these movies, suggesting the DCEU is the issue and not the DC brand or characters. That may bode well for DC Studios' reboot plans.
Director James Wan and Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa - along with Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Nicole Kidman - return in the sequel to the highest-grossing DC film of all time: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all. This time Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force. To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.
The screenplay is by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, from a story by James Wan & David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Jason Momoa & Thomas Pa'a Sibbett.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now playing in theaters.