It was the weekend movie insiders had talked about for months: the box office weekend leading into Christmas with five, wide-release major studio films all coming out at the same time; six if you count Disney releasing “Mary Poppins Returns” early on a Wednesday. So, the battle was on, Warner Bros.’ “Aquaman,” Paramount’s “Bumblebee,” Universal’s “Welcome To Marwen,” and, eventually the addition of STX‘s “Second Act” with Jennifer Lopez. An insane game of chicken, the only studio whose bluff was called was 20th Century Fox’s “Alita: Battle Angel” which wisely veered away from disaster and moved its release date to January 2019.
So, five major wide releases all at the same time, the results? Well, a big windfall for some, a disaster for others and slight cannibalization of the box office overall. Splashing in like a big tsunami, the big winner of the holiday weekend was easily DC Films’ “Aquaman,” which grossed $67.4 million over three days, a number that would likely be much, much higher if there wasn’t so much competition. Released early in China, “Aquaman” has already grossed over $500 million worldwide. Counting Christmas numbers, $22 million wracked in last night, the movie has already made $105 million domestically.
In China, “Aquaman” has already grossed almost $200 million in the country alone and these are spectacular numbers. The movie is currently the 12th highest grossing film in the Middle Kingdom in 2018, but would still have to make a killing to reach the figures of “Venom” ($270 million) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($359M). The James Wan-directed film is the highest grossing DC superhero film in China by $100 million (the closest contender is “Justice League”). Critics were mixed on the film (its fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but only barely), but audiences gave the movie an A- Cinemascore and presumably this movie is going to play for months.
READ MORE: The DC Films Universe: All The Movies Coming Soon & In Development
The question is really how high the “Aquaman” waves will rise at the worldwide box office. Well, you can guarantee this. Given the comic book movie has already made $500 million in two international weekends and one North American weekend, “Aquaman” is likely going to make at least $800 million worldwide and has a good shot at unseating “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” for the title of highest grossing DC/WB superhero movie globally ($873.6M is the number to beat). Toppling “Wonder Woman” domestically ($412.5M) will be difficult, but if it manages to do so, we’re likely looking at the first DCEU film to hit $1 billion. Keep an eye on the next few weeks at the domestic box office that should tell the overall tale.
Narratively, this is a mammoth win for Warner Bros. and DC Films. Their reputation was somewhat restored by “Wonder Woman,” but before the companies could celebrate they were back to square one with the dismal performance of “Justice League.” One thing is for sure, the idea of abandoning interconnected MCU-like narratives and focusing on the story and characters seems to be doing wonders for the films, so expect most of these DC Films to act like stand-alones until the entire universe is back on its feet and the company is feeling confident in trying an epic team-up again. A sequel is all but a day away from an announcement at this point and perhaps, given its proximity to “Venom” and its success, we’re seeing a new age of goofy superhero movie reclaiming the screen.
Elsewhere, some of the other wide releases struggled, but keep in mind the fierce competition and the idea that, like “Jumanji 2,” “The Greatest Showman,” or “Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol”—three movies that started slow over Christmas, but held on for weeks with amazing numbers—these movies could have extremely long legs.
Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” grossed $22.5 million this weekend, but has made $32 million so far domestically. That’s soft for sure, but I wouldn’t be so swift to count it out. Paramount’s “Bumblebee” was right behind with $21 million, but opened with the distinction of being the lowest opening “Transformers” movie in the series. However, it’s been critically acclaimed and audiences have also given it an A- Cinemascore. There could be much more life left in the film. STX’s “Second Act” paled in comparison to these numbers, but as a moderately budgeted Jennifer Lopez rom-com and given the blockbuster opposition, its $6.4 million opening seems relatively good for its minor expectations.
The film that really took it in the teeth was the painfully misguided “Welcome To Marwen,” from Universal and director Robert Zemeckis (“Back To The Future,” “Polar Express”). Budgeted at $40 million with high concept special effects, the movie was a huge flop grossing only $2.3 million from almost 2000 screens. Someone should have also jumped ship on this crowded box office weekend.
In other flops, Uni’s “Mortal Engines” continued to take it in the teeth, dropping a massive -76.6% in week two and earning a ridiculously low $570.00 per screen average. While producer Peter Jackson, who shepherded this project to the screen, printed money for Warner Bros. and New Line with ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ films, one has to wonder if the filmmaker’s cred will still be able to get these kinds of mammoth and expensive film off the ground again.
Elsewhere, Sony’s excellent “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” is still doing well, but perhaps underperforming given how much critics and the audiences that have seen it adore it ($129M WW so far). Wonder who, if anyone, saw Universal’s “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch” considering no one you know is talking about it? Turns out, everyone. The movie has made $422M worldwide and crossed $250M domestically, so consider it a huge hit.
In limited release, Annapurna‘s “If Beale Street Could Talk” continues to kill it with another solid 21,853 PSA from five screens. Amazon’s “Cold War” performed well too: $54,353 from 3 screens for an $18,118 PSA. You’re seeing the opposite however with Neon‘s “Vox Lux” which fell -80.1% in its third week earning just $48,484 from 75 screens for a dismal per-screen average of $646.00. Oscar talk for Natalie Portman has likely vanished. Here’s the top 10.
1. Aquaman WB $67,400,000 ($105,000,000)
2. Mary Poppins Returns — Disney — $23,523,121 ($32,337,792)
3. Bumblebee — Paramount — $21,610,000
4. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse — Sony — $16,635,000 ($64,735,063)
5. The Mule — WB — $9,727,000 ($35,431,465)
6. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch — Uni. — $8,548,370 ($253,588,345)
7. Second Act — STX — $6,480,000
8. Ralph Breaks the Internet — Disney — $4,702,425 ($162,197,355)
9. Welcome to Marwen — Uni. $2,366,560
10. Mary Queen of Scots — Focus $2,277,820 ($3,581,575)