AQUAMAN Soars To $67.4 Million Opening Weekend; MARY POPPINS RETURNS & BUMBLEBEE Round Out The Top Three
Bless the rains down in Africa because Warner Bros.' Aquaman is the number one movie in the world and is heading toward a strong $67.4 million opening weekend while Bumblebee has also opened well.
Despite falling just short of initial projections, Warner Bros.' Aquaman is still swimming to the top of the box office with a splendid $67.4 million debut, which is the ninth-biggest December opening of all-time. The film's domestic total (including last week's Amazon Prime preview screenings) now stands at $72.1 million. It should easily surpass $100 million stateside by Christmas Day.
Worldwide, the James Wan-directed underwater DC epic, which has received decidedly mixed reviews and an A- CinemaScore, has earned over $482.8 million ($72.1M domestic; $410.7M foreign) to date, which includes a monumental $232.8 million from China after three weeks, and is currently on track to top $700 million by New Year's Day.
Disney's long-awaited sequel Mary Poppins Returns, which received mostly positive reviews and an A- CinemaScore, edged out the competition to open in second place with approximately $22.2 million domestic, bringing its worldwide total to $51.3 million ($31M domestic; $20.3M foreign).
Paramount's Hailee Steinfeld-fronted Bumblebee, which received widespread critical acclaim and an A- CinemaScore, opened in third place with approximately $21 million. Combined with a $31.1 million haul from international markets, the Travis Knight-directed film has earned over $52.1 million worldwide, which is a pretty strong start for the $135 million Transformers spinoff. It opens in the United Kingdom and France on December 26, Korea & Brazil on December 27, China on January 4, and Japan on March 22.
Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse dipped about 53% in its second frame, finishing fourth with $16.7 million, taking its domestic total to $64 million. Spider-Verse also opened in China this weekend and topped the Chinese box office with $26.1 million, bringing its foreign total to $64.8 million. Overall, the critically-acclaimed animated feature has earned $129.6 million worldwide on its estimated $90 million production budget. The film, which is the first Spider-Man film to earn an A+ CinemaScore, is holding well thus far, so expect some major legs as we get into the thick of winter. It opens in Mexico on Christmas, Brazil on January 10 and Japan on March 28.
For those unfamiliar, it should be noted that films that open during the holiday box office season perform considerably different than films that open in the summer or fall as non-Star Wars films tend to open softer prior to Christmas Day, but have stronger holds and pick up a considerable amount of steam post-Christmas. All of Warner Bros.' Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films opened under $100 million, but all went on to gross over $250 million domestically (and two topped $1 billion worldwide). A more recent example is Sony's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which opened to $36.1 million stateside last year before ultimately grossing $404.5 million domestically ($962 million worldwide total). So, if anything looks a little low to you now, check the numbers at the end of January for a more accurate assessment of how well these films performed.
From Warner Bros. Pictures and director James Wan comes an action-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa in the title role. The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be…a king.
Aquaman features:
Director: James Wan
Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
Amber Heard as Mera
Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko
Patrick Wilson as King Orm/Ocean Master
Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna
Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane/Black Manta
Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry
Ludi Lin as Captain Murk
Michael Beach as Jesse Kane
Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin
Graham McTavish as King Atlan
Leigh Whannell as Cargo Pilot
Kaan Gulder as Young Arthuer (9yo)
Otis Dhanji as Young Arthur (13yo)
Kekoa Kekumano as Young Arthuer (16yo)
Julie Andrews as Karathen
John Rhys-Davis as Brine King
Djimon Hounsou as King Ricou
Sophia Forrest as the Fisherman Princess
Natalia Safran as Queen Rina
Aquaman swims into theaters December 21