‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Tops Box Office With $28M Opening
‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ was released this Friday, and the box office expectations were pretty grim, all things considered. The movie held a 36% score on Rotten Tomatoes the first 48 hours and earned a “B” CinemaScore based on early audience impressions, which put him among the lowest-rated movies in the DCEU.
The first Box Office numbers are in, and it’s not looking good. ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ has earned $28 million over the last three days. For comparison, the first movie also earned $28 million in a single day. This is significantly less than what the movie was projected to earn, with projections standing at $40 million.
However, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ still had a better opening, considering that it managed to outearn all the other movies. The first installment in the ‘Aquaman’ series grossed nearly $1.2 billion, making it the DCEU’s highest-grossing film.
There are several reasons why the movie failed so much despite the flick’s reported budget of $205 million. First, it’s the last movie in the DCEU before it transitions into a rebooted Gunn’s DCU. The fans weren’t as invested in catching up on the stories of characters that lead to nowhere, and despite ‘The Lost Kingdom’ being a solid end to the Universe, if there is no future, fans are less likely to show up in the anticipation of what’s the come.
The other reasons are mostly marketing-related, ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ had a relatively late start at promotion compared to other films, partly due to the historic SAG-AFTRA strike. Fans also weren’t exactly glad that Heard was reprising her role as Mera, considering her high-profile lawsuit with her former husband Johnny Depp that seemingly ruined her career overnight.
But there is something positive in all of this: despite flopping ‘Aquaman the Lost Kingdom’ it still managed to outearn two of this year’s biggest superhero flops, ‘The Marvels’ and ‘The Flash’ both of which set unflattering records in their respective cinematic universes.
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