INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

‘Aquaman’ Earns $72.1 Million In Its Opening Weekend

By Caitlin Albers
Published on: 10:35 PST, Dec 23, 2018

The numbers for the weekend’s box office are in, and Aquaman has landed on top. The James Wan-directed film has earned $72.1 million domestically, according to Box Office Mojo, just ahead of its $69 million projection.

Aquaman‘s best day came on Friday with a total of $28 million, which included numbers from Thursday previews. On Saturday, the film pulled in $21.5 million, with Sunday earning slightly less at $17.8 million. With North America’s numbers now added with the rest of the world, Aquaman is standing at a cool $482 million worldwide.

Despite performing well at the box office this weekend, Aquaman saw the lowest opening numbers when compared to all other films in the DC Extended Universe. The Jason Momoa film falls behind Batman v Superman ($166 million), Suicide Squad ($133 million), Man of Steel ($116 million), Wonder Woman ($103 million), and Justice League ($93 million).

Aquaman is projected to make $240 million in the United States overall, which would barely put it above Justice League ($229 million) as the second-to-worst performer in the DCEU.

Other films that did well in the box office this weekend were openers Mary Poppins Returns and Bumblebee. Newcomers Welcome to Marwen and Second Act underperformed at the box office and were outdone by films in their fifth and seventh weeks. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch earned another impressive $8.1 million this weekend, bringing its seven-week total to $253 million. The animated remake is now the sixth highest earning film of the year in the United States. Ralph Breaks the Internet is also still performing admirably in its fifth week with a $4.5 million pull this weekend. The animated film has a domestic total of $162 million, and a worldwide gross of $307 million and lands at the number 16 spot of the highest grossing films of the year.

The top 10 films for the weekend are as follows.

  • Aquaman — $72.1 million / Week 1
  • Mary Poppins Returns — $22.2 million / Week 1
  • Bumblebee — $21 million / Week 1
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — $16.7 million / Week 2
  • The Mule — $9.9 million / Week 2
  • Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch — $8.1 million / Week 7
  • Second Act — $6.5 million / Week 1
  • Ralph Breaks the Internet — $4.5 million / Week 5
  • Welcome to Marwen — $2.3 million / Week 1
  • Mary Queen of Scots — $2.2 million / Week 3

This weekend’s stellar numbers have pushed 2018 into the No. 1 spot as the highest earning year in movies ever. The domestic box office for the year currently stands at $11.380 billion.

Aquaman is projected to make $240 million in the United States overall, which would still make it the lowest performing DCEU film to date.

Aquaman is now in theaters everywhere. The film stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, and Dolph Lundgren.

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