There were raised eyebrows when Warner Bros announced Aquaman would open first in China, one week ahead of anywhere else in the world. Traditionally, Hollywood movies open there last. It is a tricky and unpredictable market where major franchises like Star Wars have dramatically underperformed. Aquaman’s unusual strategy was seen as a possible sign of low confidence. Instead, it has been a stroke of genius, setting the movie up for a global triumph.
Aquaman will pass $200million at the Chinese box office by the end of Thursday this week.
This will push the current worldwide take to over $300million before the film even opens in the US.
This means Aquaman will ride into American cinemas on a huge wave of confidence, buzz and anticipation, instead of bearing the legacy of a very bumpy big screen DC Extended Universe.
Advance sales have already outstripped some major superhereo rivals.
Fandango is reporting Aquaman presales have exceeded Wonder Woman.
The all-important opening weekend predictions are still modest at $68-75million, far behind Justice League’s $93.8million, however that movie then nosedived following terrible reviews and a divided fan response.
Aquaman, conversely, has picked up solid reviews and considerable overseas buzz. It is likely to perform strongly across the entire Christmas and New Year period and pull in young audiences and families, as well as the comicbook fandom.
Box office predictions for the five-day opening up to Christmas Eve are a strong $120million with some slightly wilder estimates it could go as high as $150million.
Although Transformers’ Bumblebee and Mary Poppins both open in the US this weekend also, Aquaman is expected to be the dominant blockbuster over the holiday period.
It is still early days, but some pundits have started to suggest the Jason Momoa solo movie could be the first DC movie to pass $1billion worldwide.
Either way, following the strong solo debut for Wonder Woman and positive advance buzz for 2019’s Shazam! it looks like the DCEU is finally back on much firmer ground moving forward.
AQUAMAN IS OUT NOW IN THE UK AND PREVIEWS ON DECEMBER 20 IN THE US