In the United States, Aquaman is just about ready to leapfrog over Justice League when it comes to the first week domestic box office gross.
Given how well James Wan’s DC film has been doing overseas and, right now, in the States as well, this was inevitable. But let’s break it down. In its first week of release last year, Justice League made $130.8 million during the Thanksgiving holiday. Fast forward a little over a year later, Aquaman has currently sitting at $137.2 million as of today. The film most recently pulled in $14.6 million on Thursday. And that grand week total could look even higher after factoring in Friday’s gross.
Considering how Aquaman has already topped the international gross for both Man of Steel and Wonder Woman and could be on the verge of hitting $1 billion, Warner Bros will need a bigger boat…for all the box office money that James Wan’s film will bring in. Given the various factors that culminated in Justice League in its current form, there probably won’t be many in fandom upset at the fact that Aquaman may surpass it. Currently, the top grossing DCEU film is still Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, so we’ll have to see if Aquaman is able to lap that film, too.
It’s also worth noting the hold that Aquaman has managed to have so far. When looking at competition such as Bumblebee, Mary Poppins Returns, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Aquaman could easily have sunk below the combined competition of those three films alone. However, word of mouth and Warner Bros targeted marketing have guaranteed Aquaman is a box office success, both internationally and domestically. It’s certainly a much brighter outlook compared to when Justice League came out in theaters.
However, what do you think of Aquaman passing Justice League in its first week at the box office? And do you think the film has a shot at either earning $1 billion or surpassing Batman v Superman’s overall total? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Aquaman is currently playing in theaters.
Source: Deadline
