Five years after Aquaman’s triumph at the box office, DC is giving us the sequel to the film. This is also the last film of DCEU. Any DC project after Lost Kingdom will either be under James Gunn’s DCU or a DC Elseworlds story like Matt Reeves’ Batman or Todd Phillips’s Joker. The sequel has been in the works for a long time but was a victim to delays. Despite its predecessor being DC’s only billion movie except for the TDK trilogy, it doesn’t look like the sequel will repeat Aquaman’s heroics. There is already too much negativity about the film on the internet. We already know that all the test screenings for the film have been terrible. Given DC’s recent run at the box office it looks like Aquaman 2 is going to follow a similar path as The Flash, Blue Beetle and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Aquaman 2 Will Continue DC’s Box Office Woes!
Box Office Pro presented a detailed report on Aquaman 2’s box office performance based on current market trends. Needless to say, things don’t look good for the DC flick. The latest forecast projected Aquaman 2 to earn between $32 million and $42 million between Friday, December 22 and Sunday, December 24. The forecast also sees Aquaman 2’s entire domestic run earning anywhere between $105 million and $168 million. This is less than half of Aquaman’s $67.8 million opening weekend.
Additionally, early presales for tickets are tracking about 25% ahead of Shazam! 2 ($30 million opening weekend), but 62% behind Black Adam ($67 million opening weekend), with the holiday season potentially helping on that front. For a film mounted on an astronomical budget of $205 million, thanks to extensive reshoots, these are awful numbers which will certainly result in a fourth consecutive box office failure for DC. The Flash has emerged to be the Highest Grosser for DC this year but with only $270 million global collection ($108 million domestic figures). The studio had spend over $300 million on production and marketing, resulting in the biggest flop in DC history.
The sequel just like the original is helmed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa in the titular role along with Yahya Abdul Mateen II, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is slated to release in theatres on 22nd December 2023.
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