Warner Bros.’ DC movieAquamancrossed the $200 million domestic mark on New Year’s Day, solidifying the film’s status as a bona fide hit. Many were skeptical that the film could fare as well as it did during the holiday corridor—myself included—butAquamanhas proved to bethebig hit of the season, overshadowing more family friendly fare likeMary Poppins ReturnsandBumblebee.
Aquamanfinished Tuesday with a domestic total of $216.3 million, which puts it on track to easily surpass the lifetime domestic total ofJustice League, which stands at $229 million. Worldwide,Aquamanhas already hit nearly $800 million, swimming past the worldwide totals ofJustice League($657.9 million),Man of Steel($668 million), andSuicide Squad($746.8 million).
Elsewhere at the New Year’s box office,Mary Poppins Returnshas hit $115 million domestic, which is solid but a far cry from the mega-sized hit Disney was anticipating. The film could still have strong legs and climb to big heights in the weeks to come a laThe Greatest Showman, but most pegged theMary Poppinssequel asthehit film of the holiday season. Instead, folks headed forAquamanor stayed home and watchedBird Box.
The news is even worse forBumblebee. TheTransformersspinoff’s domestic total now stands at just $78.5 million after picking up another $7 million on New Year’s Day. While that’s not disastrous, it’s surely nowhere near what Paramount was hoping for a film that was intended to reorient theTransformersfranchise going forward. Then again, after five films ofMichael Baysmashing metal together in indistinguishable images and sounds, it’s tough to ask the audience to trust that theTravis Knight-directed film will be different. The film scored solid reviews so perhaps this is one folks will catch up on later in the year.
Circling back toAquaman, the film is currently on track to become the highest grossing DCEU film ever worldwide, as it’s poised to easily surpass the grosses ofWonder Woman($821 million) andBatman v Superman($873 million) in due time. Domestically, hwoever, it’s got a ways to go to catch up. For reference, here’s the domestic totals of every DCEU film—i.e. interconnected DC movies starting withMan of Steel—thus far.
1.Wonder Woman- $412,563,408
2.Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice- #330,360,194
3.Suicide Squad- $325,100,054
4.Man of Steel- $291,045,518
