We are only mere weeks away from “Aquaman” making its debut in theaters. And while early reactions have praised the film (perhaps a bit too much), the latest DC superhero film from Warner Bros. faces some serious competition at the multiplex in the form of “Mary Poppins Returns” and “Bumblebee.” This fact is not lost on director James Wan, who admits that he’s just as curious to see how his film does at the box office as fans and pundits.
When asked by EW if he is concerned about “Aquaman’s” box office future in light of the film debuting the exact same week as Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” and Paramount’s “Bumblebee,” the director said, “For sure, I think I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. But generally, around the holidays, there’s a lot to go around — which was pointed out to us when ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ and ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ opened on top of each other. You see how well ‘Jumanji’ played.”
He continued, “I don’t mind being the underdog. ’Aquaman’ has always been the underdog and I’m happy to continue that narrative.”
Early analysis and predictions said that the competition between ‘Poppins,’ “Bumblebee,” and “Aquaman” would result in franchise low openings for the latter two. But then you have outlets like The Wrap claiming that some analysts are predicting “Aquaman” could eclipse $100 million in its debut weekend. Honestly, at this point, if word-of-mouth on the superhero film stays strong, we are probably looking at something in the middle of those predictions.
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That being said, Wan is correct to point out that just last year, ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Jumanji’ competed against each other, with both pulling in billion-dollar grosses worldwide. However, not only are there three major players this year there’s also incredible competition in the weeks leading up to the December 21st showdown, including the debut of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” the week prior.
Ultimately, we’ll just have to wait and see. The totals could also be affected by the Amazon Prime member exclusive screenings of “Aquaman” that begin December 14. Either way, stick around for our weekly box office report, it should be a fun one.
“Aquaman” hits theaters December 21.