The DCEU has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years. The first Aquaman movie, released in 2018, happened to be one of their ups. As for Aquaman 2, however, things aren’t looking good for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – which is currently trailing Black Adam as the next DC bomb.
2018’s Aquaman managed to earn as much as $67 million during its three-day opening. It would then earn over $100 million for its five-day Christmas opening. The sequel, however, seems to be on track for $32 million to $42 million for its three-day opening.
As shared via Box Office Pro, the film is also 62% behind Black Adam after one day of sample market tracking its ticket sales. And considering that film only made $393 million on a budget estimated to be $190 million to $260 million, those numbers are quite dire. Of course, there are some major differences between this particular Aquaman film and its more successful predecessor.
Although both films star Jason Momoa as the titular character, they were also released at different times in DC’s history. The first Aquaman was released following the failure of Joss Whedon’s Justice League, but it managed to bring fans around to the DCEU by being an overall enjoyable blockbuster. The sequel, on the other hand, is being released at the end of the DCEU as James Gunn and Peter Safran plan to relaunch the brand with a new continuity: the DCU.
The film has also had other troubling production issues. For starters, Jason Momoa’s co-star Amber Heard had her own fair share of controversy during her lawsuit against ex-husband Johnny Depp. Many fans tried to have Heard removed from the film altogether as a result, but she is still going to be part of the picture.
Other issues suggest that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has faced a number of troubling reshoots. Of course, reshoots can be natural for a blockbuster of that size. But this is a film being released during a number of major studio changes – so they could be rather detrimental to its success as a coherent movie. Overall, we’ll just have to see what happens, and whether or not it can win over audiences at the last second.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Aquaman 2 and its potential to become a box office bomb as we have them.