It's been almost a full year since the release of the last DC Comics movie Justice League, and fans have been curious about how the world will react to Aquaman. The solo film for Jason Momoa's underwater adventurer has some solid buzz around it, but now we've got an idea of how well we can expect the movie to perform on its opening weekend. According to early tracking, Aquaman will have a similar opening as some Marvel Phase One Marvel movies, with $40 to $60 million.
Box Office Pro is calculating the biggest releases of December, and it estimates that Aquaman will open in the range of $40 to $60 million. The site notes that films around that time of year have "abnormal holding patterns," so long-term forecasts can change in the coming weeks. Social media buzz is similar to that of Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the film will be the action movie of choice for those looking for spectacle during the holiday season. The site states that reviews and word of mouth can be big influencers for comic book movies, so those could boost or diminish Aquaman's performance.
This trajected range might seem low to some, but it's not a terrible number for a solo superhero origin movie. Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor both opened a little above $60,000, so it seems like a realistic initial projection for Aquaman. I wouldn't be surprised if the movie opened with $70 million by the time everything was said and done.
Aquaman is the first DC film following last years underperforming Justice League, so fans will be paying attention to how this movie performs at the box office. The film follows Jason Mamoa's undersea hero, who sheds the character's blonde hair and animal companions for whiskey and a rock and roll attitude. The trailers thus far have teased a fun and extremely comic book-y adventure (people ride around on hammerhead sharks!), and it has a solid amount of buzz around it.
Aquaman is directed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Nicole Kidman. The film follows Aquaman as he struggles with his identity as half-human, half-Atlantean and his destiny as the rightful king of Atlantis. Aquaman will team up with Mera to stop his half-brother Orm from waging war with the surface world.
The aquatic DC movie is all set to arrive in theaters on December 21. To learn more about the movie, here's everything we know so far about the superhero film. For everything else coming to theaters for the rest of the year, be sure to check out our 2018 movie release guide to keep track of them all.
