All hail the King of the DCEU, Aquaman! That's right, the dolphin-talking hero who once took the prize for the most laughable member of the Justice League is collecting so much cash at the box office that by Sunday it will hit the $1 billion mark worldwide. Ironically enough, Aquaman will hit this milestone on the same weekend it will lose its No. 1 spot at the domestic box office, which it has held for three weeks.<doc-sep>8TH UPDATE, 7:30 AM Wednesday: Aquaman had a huge Christmas Day, earning $22M to make it one of six films to gross north of $20M on Christmas after Star Wars pics The Force Awakens ($49.3M), The Last Jedi ($27.4M) and Rogue One ($25.8M), along with Sherlock Holmes ($24.6M), and Avatar ($23M). This takes the James Wan-directed movie to $101M through five days, and with previews $105.7M. Aquaman jumped 102% over its Christmas Eve take of $10.95M. Note that even with previews, Aquaman still is slightly behind the five-day take of last year’s Justice League ($111.9M), which was one of the low points in the recent DC franchise commercially and critically, ending its domestic run at $229M and WW at $657.9M. However, there’s more optimism in Aquaman given its slightly higher exits of A- to Justice League B+ and the fact that the DC title is in the lucrative year-end post-holiday season. This in addition to the fact that Aquaman has already made 75% of Justice League’s global total to date with half-billion-plus WW. As we reported yesterday, film finance sources believe Aquaman will profit in its theatrical window. Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns was second yesterday with $11.5M, +89% over Christmas Eve with a running total of $50.2M over its first week, 108% ahead of The Greatest Showman a year ago over the same number of days. Paramount’s Bumblebee saw $8.9M yesterday, +140% from Monday for a five-day total of $34.2M. The industry is estimating that the Transformers spinoff ends its domestic run around $120M. Sony Sony’s Holmes & Watson landed fourth on Christmas with $6.4M, however audience gave the Will Ferrell and John. C. Reilly PG-13 comedy a D+. which is lower than Ferrell’s Zoolander 2 (C+) and Land of the Lost (C+). PostTrak was worse with a 1/2 star and a 28% definite recommend. Over six days, Sony is projecting $18M-$20M — which, by the way, would be more than last holiday season’s comedy Father Figures, which tanked with a final gross of $17.5M. We’ll see if Holmes & Watson makes it that far given its audience scores. We had heard for quite some time that test scores for Holmes & Watson were so bad that Sony tried unloading the movie to Netflix, but the streamer wouldn’t buy it. The Culver City lot kept the movie and opted to do the best that it could do with it, selling down its share on the movie with Mimran Schur Pictures taking a minority stake. Males 25+ showed up at 39%, F25+ 38%, M25- 14% and F25- 9%. Holmes & Watson cost $42M net, per the studio, and if this film has any shot of making its money back, it has to be stateside and in English-speaking territories offshore (maybe Germany), which is where comedy works. Annapurna Pictures Annapurna opened Adam McKay’s Vice to $4.77M in seventh place. Despite being a divisive film about former Vice President Dick Cheney, Vice over-indexed in the Northeast and the West Coast, with surprising strength in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Arizona, Kansas City and Indianapolis and other heartland cities. The pic received a C+ CinemaScore, which is a notch ahead of what Oliver Stone’s 2008 G.W. Bush opus W. received from moviegoers. Vice received a better reception on PostTrak, with a 49% definite recommend and 3 1/2 stars. Men showed up at 53% and loved the movie the most (82%); women made up 47% of the audience and but loved it less (60%). Vice was nominated for six Golden Globes including McKay as director and screenwriter, Christian Bale as Cheney in the best actor comedy/musical slot and and best comedy/musical. Vice has a 66% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score. Elsewhere, MGM’s Creed II finally is pummeling past the $109.7M domestic gross of Creed today. Among other wide entries, STX’s Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy made Second Act made $3M, up 206% from Christmas Eve for a five-day total of $10.55M. Universal/Dreamworks’ bomb Welcome to Marwen made $1.3M, +172% over Monday for an awful five-day of $4.1M for this production that cost between $40M-$50M. Focus Features’ young Ruth Bader Ginsburg tale On the Basis of Sex had a solid start Christmas Day debut with an estimated $442K at 33 locations. BOX OFFICE FOR DEC. 21-25 thumb rank film dis. screens (chg) weekend b.o. xmas eve xmas (ranked) total wk 1 Aquaman WB 4,125 $68M $10.95M $22M $105.7M 1 2 Mary Poppins Returns Dis 4,090 $23.5M $6.1M $11.5M $50.2M 1 3 Bumblebee Par 3,550 $21.6M $3.75M $8.9M $34.2M 1 4 Holmes & Watson Sony 2,719 — — $6.4M $6.4M 1 5 …Spider-Verse Sony 3,813 $16.6M (-53%) $3.3M $5.6M $73.7M 2 6 The Mule WB/Bron 2,656 (+68) $9.5M (-46%) $2.2M $4.9M $42.3M 2 7 Vice ANNP 2,378 — — $4.77M $4.77M 1 8 Second Act STX 2,607 $6.4M $1M $3M $10.5M 1 9 The Grinch Uni/Ill 2,780 (-900) $8.5M (-27%) $2.3M $2.1M $258.1M 7 10 Ralph Breaks… Dis 2,495 (-866) $4.7M (-49%) $1.2M $1.7M $165M 5 11 Welcome to Marwen Uni/DW 1,911 $2.3M $490K $1.3M $4.1M 1 12 The Favourite FSL 795 (+354) $2M (-20%) $420K $888K $11.4M 5 13 Mary Queen… Focus 795 (+729) $2.2M (+225%) $395K $878K $4.7M 3 14 Green Book Uni/DW/Part 732 (-483) $1.4M (-49%) $400K $683K $28.6M 6 15 Creed MGM/NL 1,068 (-2,039) $1.5M (-71%) $317K $586K $109.6M 5 7th Update Christmas Day w/chart: Aquaman is $16.3M away from hitting $100M, and that’s an amount the Warner Bros./DC film could very well achieve by the end of Christmas Day. Warner Bros. reported a Christmas Eve take of $10.95M, -42% from Sunday. Counting all of Aquaman‘s preview cash plus a $68M 3-day, his running total is now at $83.6M. Last year when Christmas fell on a Monday, Sony’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle earned $19.1M. Christmas Eve is a sluggish day in the holiday stretch and yesterday films in the top 10 dropped an average of 32% from their Sunday take. That said, moviegoing is expected to explode today, followed by hearty days through New Year’s Day next week. Aquaman officially crossed the half billion mark at the worldwide box office yesterday and film finance sources tell Deadline that the $200M production is bound to profit in its theatrical window. Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns after being in an early blinking contest on Friday and Saturday with Paramount’s Bumblebee remains ahead of the Transformer with $6.1M to $3.75M on Monday. She also had a better hold between Sunday and Monday when compared to Bumblebee, -25% to -39%. Through six days, Poppins counts a total of $38.4M and through four days Bumblebee is seeing $25.3M. Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse earned $3.3M down 38% on Monday, for a running total of $68.1M in fourth place. In 8th place Monday was the weekend’s fourth wide entry, STX’s Second Act which took $1M, -46% for a four-day take of $7.4M. The Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy is set to make $10M-plus by the end of today. Universal/DreamWorks’ Welcome to Marwen ranked 9th Monday with $490K, -25% from Sunday for a four-day of $2.8M. Yesterday we spoke with sources and did a deep-dive on the Robert Zemeckis-directed fantasy drama and how it’s poised to lose $60M. Yash Raj’s Bollywood title, Zero, from director Aanand L. Rai and starring Shah Rukh Khan, earned $1M at 295 locations over FSS. The movie centers around Bauua Singh (Khan), a vertically challenged, arrogant man who is born into a life of privilege. He is challenged to broaden his horizon and find purpose in life. Sony’s Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly comedy Holmes & Watson opens today at 2,179 theaters while Annapurna’s dramedy Vice about former Vice President Dick Cheney debuts at 2,378. Both are projected to respectively earn $5M and $4M today. Estimates as of this morning: BOX OFFICE FOR DEC. 21-24 thumb rank film dis. screens (chg) weekend b.o. xmas eve(ranked) total wk 1 Aquaman WB 4,125 $68M $10.95M $83.6M 1 2 Mary Poppins Returns Dis 4,090 $23.5M $6.1M $38.4M 1 3 Bumblebee Par 3,550 $21.6M $3.75M $25.3M 1 4 …Spider-Verse Sony 3,813 $16.6M (-53%) $3.3M $68.1M 2 5 The Grinch Uni/Ill 2,780 (-900) $8.5M (-27%) $2.3M $255.9M 7 6 The Mule WB/Bron 2,656 (+68) $9.5M (-46%) $2.2M $37.4M 2 7 Ralph Breaks the Internet Dis 2,495 (-866) $4.7M (-49%) $1.2M $163.3M 5 8 Second Act STX 2,607 $6.4M $1M $7.4M 1 9 Welcome to Marwen Uni/DW 1,911 $2.3M $490K $2.8M 1 10 Bohemian Rhapsody Fox/NR/GK 1,168 (-1,045) $1.9M (-54%) $470K $185.2M 8 11 The Favourite FSL 790 (+349) $2M (-20%) $420K $10.5M 5 12 Green Book Uni/Part/DW 732 (-483) $1.4M (-49%) $400K $27.9M 6 13 Mary Queen… Focus 795 (+729) $2.2M (+225%) $395K $3.9M 3 14 Mortal Engines Uni/MRC 3,103 $1.7M (-76%) $380K $12.4M 2 6th Update Sunday Final w/chart after 7:31AM update: Warner Bros. is calling Aquaman at $67.4M for the three-days, and with Amazon Prime and Wednesday previews, currently stands at $72.1M in the U.S/Canada. Lower than what many were expecting ($70M+) on midday Friday and early Saturday, but within the industry range that was being projected over three days. As predicted by many, Aquaman was frontloaded on Friday (which included Thursday previews), with Saturday -23%, for $21.5M. Sunday is expected to bring in $17.8M. Monday, because it’s Christmas Eve, will be lower, as business for all pics drops. But rivals think by the 25th, the Jason Momoa muscular hero will thrust himself out of the water to greater cash, possibly even $100M+. Warner Bros. Worldwide on this DC film, Warner Bros. is over the moon: Aquaman is at $482M and will hit a half billion by Christmas. The studio was originally going to open Aquaman in October and switched it to December, and they have zero regrets about that. Another thing for Warner Bros. to boast about is that Aquaman made more this weekend than the next three films: Bumblebee, Mary Poppins Returns, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and that shows you where the money is this weekend. Another high for WB is that its awards contender and five Golden Globe nominee A Star Is Born crossed $200M. In other big news, ComScore reports today that the 2018 domestic box office just beat the 2016 record by a nose: $11.383B to $11.382B. In the battle for second place, Poppins beats Bumblebee, $22.2M to $21M. She had a Saturday of $8.6M, and the VW bug posted $7M. Their five-day rumble between Friday and Christmas will continue with $30M+ a piece. Beamed Warners Domestic Distribution boss Jeff Goldstein, “Fans love James Wan and Jason Momoa. There’s something special about Jason’s personality that comes across on screen, and James makes an excellent movie, and fans look at him as a marquee director in regards to his canon.” No doubt, Wan and Momoa have been tubthumping the film in Gal Gadot-fashion on social. Wan continually teased San Diego Comic-Con attendees ahead of Aquaman‘s appearance there. Momoa begin to resonate with fans after he made a Robert Downey-like entrance into Hall H back at SDCC 2017. At the Aquaman premiere two weeks ago, Momoa performed a ceremonial Māori Haka dance, which is typically done at key title events. A couple of points to consider as grosses are still rolling in: As we mentioned previously, most films were off their estimates, and pre-Christmas activities and travel can easily be blamed for that. The last time Christmas fell on a Tuesday was 2012, and that’s when Warners opened The Hobbit to $84.6M over the Dec. 14-16 weekend. They couldn’t go last weekend with Aquaman because Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was already on the calendar. During the Dec. 21-23, 2012 weekend, Hobbit led all films with a second frame of $36.9M, followed by Jack Reacher with $15.2M. So that gives you an idea of the funkiness to this pre-Christmas period, business-wise. That said, ComScore shows $174.3M in ticket sales this weekend, off 2.1% from a year ago. We have Annapurna’s Vice and Sony’s Holmes and Watson hitting the multiplexes on Tuesday. Aquaman‘s worth will be proven in the next 14 days, and with its stellar exits, the industry isn’t perceiving this as a Justice League (which opened to $93M and ended around $229).<doc-sep>
Can “Aquaman” save the DC Universe? Every time Warner Bros. releases a new Justice League adventure, it’s become de rigueur to ask what the film’s box office results mean for the studio’s on-going attempts to fashion together a Marvel alternative. It may be frustrating for the powers that be at DC, but it’s a valid question to raise given the comic book brand’s inconsistent track record. “Wonder Woman” was a promising step in the right direction as Patty Jenkins’ take on the Amazonian warrior became the rare DC entry to score critical acclaim and robust ticket sales to match. This time, it was up to “Aquaman” director James Wan to prove Princess Diana was no fluke. Audiences, for the most part, seem receptive to Jason Momoa’s sinewy leader. Bolstered by decent reviews, the superhero adventure topped the box office in North America, racking up $72 million over its first three days, including previews. It’s not an overwhelmingly impressive Stateside start compared to his Spandexed cohort “Wonder Woman,” which picked up $103 million during its first weekend. Even critically excoriated entries such as “Justice League” ($93 million) and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” ($166 million) were able to pull off better debuts. Still, “Aquaman’s” $72 million bow comes with a few of caveats. The Atlantean king isn’t as high-profile as, say Batman or Superman, so it’s not surprising he couldn’t match their commercial results. Moreover, December traditionally fields smaller opening weekends that can lead to long runs at the box office as moviegoers have time off between Christmas and New Year’s. That puts Warner Bros. in a good position to recoup “Aquaman’s” $200 million budget. When looking at end-of-the-year releases, “Aquaman” actually ranks among the best launches for anything not set in the “Star Wars” universe. It has a long and potentially lucrative holiday corridor ahead to build the kind of buzz it needs to turn a profit. Like most tentpoles, domestic numbers only tell half the story. With just a few offshore markets left to open, the muscular king seems to be resonating abroad in a big way. “Aquaman” hit theaters in China two weeks ahead of its U.S. debut and has since generated $410 million internationally, bringing its global tally to $483 million. It has already surpassed the entire international gross of “Wonder Woman,” which ended its theatrical run with $409 million. “‘Aquaman’ is a step in the right direction when you’re talking about global enterprising,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “They’re making films that audiences around the world want to see.” You don’t have to look much past the studs in the green-and-orange suit to see why “Aquaman” has struck a chord among fanboys and fangirls. Momoa embodies his character in a way that Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill were never quite able to pull off while portraying the latest iterations of Batman and Superman. The Hawaiian actor leaned into Aquaman’s backstory, even performing a ceremonial haka dance on the press circuit and at the movie’s premiere. Unlike, say, the morose Affleck, Momoa seemed to be getting a kick out of his promotional duties. “It’s a big deal to have an actor that really fits into the spandex,” Bock said. “That’s the key — really stamping in and making that role your own.” The Atlantean setting also meant that Wan could abandon the dreary color palates from “Justice League” and “Batman v Superman” and instead lean into dazzling visual affects to portray the film’s mythical underworld. Audiences didn’t just show up to see the movie, they responded well to the on-screen action. “Aquaman’s” CinemaScore of A- is the second best result for any DC film in the post-Christopher Nolan era, second only to “Wonder Woman.” The film’s humorous tone suggests that the DC Universe finally took a page from Marvel’s lighthearted approach to masked Avengers’ movies. If some painfully cheesy jokes are the price moviegoers have to pay for hero with some personality, it’s one well worth paying. It’s also promising when looking at the future of DC. Cavill appears to be hanging up his red cape, and it’s unlikely that Affleck will get another call to play the Caped Crusader, but the momentum behind “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman” signals that the Justice League might look a little different in years to come.