Jason Momoa's "Aquaman" is the King of the Seven Seas — and now the box office. The DC adventure dominated in North America with a splashy 72 million U.S. dollars debut, including previews.
That's a hefty start during a month that, aside from "Star Wars" movies, tends to field smaller opening weekends that pick up steam as audiences are off from work and school between Christmas and New Year. As expected, "Aquaman" easily fended off fellow newcomers "Mary Poppins Returns" and "Bumblebee."
James Wan directed "Aquaman," which has already amassed 410 million U.S. dollars overseas for a global total of 482.8 million U.S.dollars.
Superhero fans were much more receptive to "Aquaman" than previous DC titles, branding this entry with an A- CinemaScore. "Aquaman" cost a hefty 200 million U.S. dollars to produce and is Warner Bros.' first DC stand-alone adventure since "Wonder Woman," which opened in 2017 to a massive 103 million U.S. dollars.
Best debut in China
Jason Momoa in China. /Sina Photo
Jason Momoa in China. /Sina Photo
Aquaman was released in China two weeks ahead of the United States. The movie earned a whopping 156 million yuan (23 million U.S. dollars) on its opening day and grossed more than 650 million yuan (about 94.5 million U.S. dollars) over its opening weekend.
The film has received over 300,000 comments on Douban, a Chinese social networking site, and scored a 7.9 out of 10, which is relatively high.
"The underwater world that James Wan has created is above all expectations. This is what a movie about a superhero under the sea should look like," this comment on the website has attracted over 5,000 likes.
Until December 19, "Aquaman" grossed more than 1.416 billion yuan (about 200 million U.S.dollars) in the Chinese mainland.
(With inputs from Reuters)