Aquaman will be arriving in theaters one week earlier in the United Kingdom.
The still trailer-less Aquaman, directed by James Wan and starring Jason Momoa, was originally set to hit theaters around the world on December 21. According to Digital Spy, however, the film is now debuting in the United Kingdom on December 14, one week earlier than its previous release date.
The report goes on to suggest that, the release date hasn't been confirmed by Warner Bros. for any other country, the domestic and global releases could also be moved up similarly. So, even though the UK release is the only one to get the change, it would be safe to expect the US release won't be too far behind.
While a reason wasn't provided for the release date change, it does make a lot of sense for WB to move Aquaman out of that week, given the other movies debuting on the same date. Two big budget sci-fi films; the Robert Rodriguez-directed Alita: Battle Angel and Transformers spinoff Bumblebee are both currently occupying the December 21 release date. Not to mention that four days later on December 25, Disney's Mary Poppins Returns is debuting and will most likely obliterate any competition.
By moving to December 14, Aquaman faces a much tamer crowd. The only two movies currently occupying that date are Sony's animated Marvel movie Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, and the big screen adaptation of Mortal Engines. Aquaman would stand a much greater chance facing off against that duo, and would benefit from having an extra week of build up before the other film's arrive.
What do you think about this change? Do you think Warner Bros. is making the right call by moving Aquaman up a week? Do you think the release will also be changed elsewhere to match?