The weekend after the Christmas holiday is an odd one for the box office. Outside of a couple of new films debuting on the actual Christmas holiday, the top 10 is largely the same as last weekend, with many of the films only dropping marginally or gaining a little bit versus seven days ago. So, needless to say, “Aquaman” is still the big story, outside of a few special December 25th films.
And to say “Aquaman” is a big story is definitely a bit of an understatement. The superhero epic that just keeps on earning impressive totals continued that trend over the last three days. It’s estimated the Jason “My Man!” Momoa film earned another $51.6 million domestically in its second full weekend of release. This accounts for only a -24% drop from last weekend’s already-huge totals. The domestic total for “Aquaman” currently sits at $189 million, after 10 days.
READ MORE: James Wan Included An ‘Aquaman’ Easter Egg Specifically For Edgar Wright
Even though that domestic total is pretty damn impressive, the real story is the worldwide gross for the fish man movie. As of current estimates, “Aquaman” has earned a massive $748.8 million worldwide, thanks to the incredible $250+ million in China, where it still has an extended month of play left. With the film approaching $750 million, “Aquaman” has crossed some DCEU milestones over the weekend. First, and perhaps most telling, the James Wan-directed film has easily eclipsed the entire run of “Justice League” ($658 million), which was the first film to feature Momoa’s superhero character. But that’s not all. After this weekend, “Aquaman” will have outgrossed the entire worldwide runs of “Suicide Squad” ($747 million) and “Man of Steel” ($668 million), as well.
At this point, it’s likely that “Aquaman” will become the first DCEU film to hit the $1 billion mark, making it the new crown jewel of Warner Bros’ superhero franchise. When “Wonder Woman” became a massive hit in 2017, everyone assumed that WB’s new direction would include smart, well-acted, thoughtful superhero films. “Aquaman” is proving that what superhero fans really want is loud, terrible, and tacky. Go figure.
As for the new films this weekend, Adam McKay’s “Vice” debuted nationwide with a pretty decent $7.8 million, as it looks to compete with the director’s last film “The Big Short” and it’s $70 million domestic total. We’ll have to see how it holds up in the weeks to come (especially if it receives some Oscar nomination love, which will help quite a bit). On the other hand, Sony’s “Holmes and Watson,” which suffered intense critical badgering and audience disapproval, suffered in its first weekend, with a $7.3 million opening. Considering the film’s $42 million production budget and what is likely to become terrible word of mouth, the Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly film is headed for a loss.
This weekend’s limited release films featured three high-profile awards contenders, with “Stan & Ollie” earning a per theater average of $15,935 in five locations, Karyn Kusama’s “Destroyer” earning a PTA of $19,491 in only three locations, and “On the Basis of Sex” opening in the most locations (33) and garnering a PTA of $20,909. While not earth-shattering, each of these debuts bodes well for the films as they begin to expand in the new year.
Of course, the weekend is far from over, with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day both coming, which should make these totals jump even more. And then next week, 2019 kicks off with the debut of “Escape Room,” which…(checks IMDB)…is a real thing, apparently.
Here’s the full top 10 for December 28 to 30:
1. Aquaman – $51.6M ($189M overall)
2. Mary Poppins Returns – $28M ($99M)
3. Bumblebee – $20.5M ($66.8M)
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – $18.3M ($104M)
5. The Mule – $11.8M ($60.7M)
6. Vice – $7.8M ($17.7M)
7. Holmes & Watson – $7.3M ($19.7M)
8. Second Act – $7.2M ($21.8)
9. Ralph Breaks the Internet – $6.5M ($176M)
10. The Grinch – $4.2M ($265M)