"Aquaman" Sequel Dominates Box Office as Christmas Brings Fresh Movie Releases

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Leads Box Office Weekend

The highly anticipated superhero sequel, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," dominated the box office on the weekend before Christmas Monday. According to studio estimates, the film starring Jason Momoa earned an impressive $28.1 million in its first three days of release in 3,706 locations across North America. It is projected to reach around $40 million in domestic ticket sales by Monday.

Despite the arrival of several new releases, such as the family friendly animated film "Migration," the R-rated romantic comedy "Anyone But You," the wrestling family tragedy "The Iron Claw," and the ghostly tearjerker "All of Us Strangers," this pre-holiday period was relatively quieter at the box office.

Unfortunately, the timing of Christmas Eve falling on a prime weekend day is not ideal for Hollywood or theaters. However, in 2017, when Christmas was also on a Monday, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" dominated the four-day charts with an impressive $71.5 million in its second weekend.

Looking ahead, Christmas Day is expected to bring large crowds back to the theaters with the release of several highly anticipated films.

Those include the big budget musical adaptation of "The Color Purple," starring Fantasia Barrino Taylor, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins. Oprah Winfrey, who played Sofia in the 1985 film adaptation of the novel by Alice Walker, is serving as a producer.

In an interview with CBS News' "Sunday Morning," Henson described the message of the film: "As long as you got a beat in your heart, there's time to make your wildest dreams come true."

"It just reminds me of how powerful we are as women when we stick together. And that just doesn't mean that we're comin' after you, men!" Henson laughed. "If we stick together, you're taken care of. Relax! You know, men get nervous. The women and girls are stickin' together! You will benefit, trust me."

Also arriving on Christmas is Michael Mann's racing film "Ferrari," starring Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley; and George Clooney's adaptation of the rowing drama "The Boys in the Boat," based on the best-selling book by Daniel James Brown that recounted the underdog journey of the American oarsmen at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

All should get a boost between Christmas and New Years, a traditionally lucrative time for movie theaters.

But none will compare some of the biggest holiday earners, like "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," "Avatar" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home." It was not lost on social media that this was the weekend that Patty Jenkins' Star Wars movie "Rogue Squadron" was supposed to come out.

"Seven openers in the course of four days is unusual," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.

"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" is estimated to have cost around $200 million to produce, not including marketing and promotion costs. Including international estimates at $80 million through Monday, "Aquaman" is heading toward a $120 million global debut.

The first film opened to $67.8 million in 2018 and went on to make almost $1.2 billion globally. Dergarabedian noted that the first film also earned more than 70% of its box office internationally.

The "Aquaman" opening ends a tricky, transitional year for DC superhero films, full of box office disappointments including "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," "The Flash" and "Blue Beetle," as the studio phases out this slate to welcome in James Gunn's vision for the future. "Aquaman 2" was the final "holdover" of the previous administration.

Its studio, Warner Bros. also has the No. 2 movie of the weekend, "Wonka " and one of the major Christmas openings, "The Color Purple," a buffet of big movies that was sorely needed by theaters — especially without no new movie from the Walt Disney Company or Paramount. By Monday, Warner Bros. will likely have three spots in the top five.

Warner Bros. has a lot to offer for everyone," said the studio's head of domestic distribution, Jeff Goldstein. "And with plenty of holiday time, you can see all three."

In its second weekend, "Wonka" earned an estimated $17.7 million over the weekend and $26.1 million including Monday, bringing its total domestic earnings to $83.6 million.

In third place is Illumination and Universal's "Migration," a PG-rated animated adventure about a family of mallards traveling south. The film earned an estimated $12.3 million from 3,761 locations in North America through Sunday, which is expected to increase to $17.1 million by the end of Monday. Its global total through Sunday is estimated at $34.3 million, and it could see a boost with kids out of school.

"'Migration' flew into theaters with really, really exciting audience reactions, pointing to what we believe will not only be a fantastic run throughout the holidays, but also into the next year," said Jim Orr, Universal's head of domestic distribution.

With the exception of Disney's re-releases of some of its Pixar titles earlier in the year, there will be no new direct competition until "Kung Fu Panda 4" is released on March 8.

Weekend Box Office Earnings

Weekend box office earnings dropped off significantly further down the list, with the romantic comedy "Anyone But You" in fourth place with an estimated $6.2 million from its first three days, expected to reach $9 million including Monday. Directed by Will Gluck, the movie, loosely inspired by "Much Ado About Nothing," divided critics sharply. Audiences gave it a B+ CinemaScore.

In fifth place was the Telugu-language action film "Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire," which made $5.5 million from only 802 theaters. The top 10 included another Indian film, the Hindi-language "Dunki," and two Japanese films, "Godzilla Minus One" and "The Boy and the Heron."

A24's "The Iron Claw," about the tragedy-stricken Von Erich wrestling family, opened on 2,774 screens riding a wave of good reviews praising Zac Efron's lead performance.

"No matter where the box office ends up on the 31st, whether it hits $9 billion or is just close, this is just a boom time to be a moviegoer," said an industry analyst. "The top 10 reads like a greatest hits of every type of cinema."