Summary
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom slumped after its debut weekend, falling to No. 3 at the box office in its third weekend.
- It had the fourth-worst opening total of the 15-movie DCEU franchise.
- Despite the slump, the film has hit the $100 million milestone in North America.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has passed a major milestone at the domestic box office despite recent struggles. While the DC superhero sequel took No. 1 on its debut weekend over the Christmas holiday, it slumped hard after that, falling behind the holdover hit Wonka the following weekend. Additionally, that opening total itself was already the fourth-worst of the entire 15-movie franchise, which was formerly known as the DC Extended Universe and is now transitioning into the DC Universe with the upcoming Superman: Legacy.
Per Deadlinethe Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom box office has earned an additional $10.6 million during its third weekend in domestic theaters. This sees it sink to No. 3 on the chart below Wonka and the new release Night Swim. However, it has finally hit the important $100 million milestone in North America, becoming one of just 25 movies released in 2023 to cross that threshold.
How Aquaman 2 Is Shaping Up Compared To The Rest Of The Franchise
So far, the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom release is shaping up to end its run at a slightly better position than most of the DCEU movies from 2020 through 2023, which have been experiencing severe diminishing returns. Of those eight titles, it is currently at No. 3, still catching up with 2023’s The Flash ($108.1 million domestic) and 2022’s Black Adam ($168.1 million domestic). It seems inevitable that it will catch up with the former, but for now it is neck and neck.
It may not even be able to beat the $140.4 million domestic gross of 2019’s Shazam!which was the lowest-grossing installment in the DCEU before 2020. Aquaman 2 is trailing behind, as Shazam!‘s third weekend saw it already passing the $120 million mark. Check out how Aquaman‘s third weekend is looking compared to the third weekends and overall domestic grosses of the next five highest-grossing DCEU titles below:
|
Title |
Week 3 Domestic Gross |
Overall Domestic Gross |
|---|---|---|
|
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) |
$100 million |
TBD |
|
The Flash (2023) |
$99.5 million |
$108.1 million |
|
Shazam! (2019) |
$120.4 million |
$140.3 million |
|
Black Adam (2022) |
$137.1 million |
$168.1 million |
|
Justice League (2017) |
$197.4 million |
$229 million |
|
Man of Steel (2013) |
$248.6 million |
$291 million |
If Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ends up between the overall grosses of The Flash and Shazam!it will rank as the ninth highest-grossing movie of the franchise, still lurking toward the bottom of the domestic chart. With a break-even point somewhere north of $410 million worldwide, this means the movie may not end up making a profit worldwide unless it shows a stronger hold than expected throughout early 2024. This gross, combined with the new direction for the franchise, means that the possible Aquaman 3 may not ever see the light of day.
Source: Deadline
