411 Box Office Report: Aquaman Powers Way to $51 Million Second Weekend Win

Aquaman made fine use of the holiday season, pushing its way to a second straight weekend at the top of the box office. The DC Extended Universe movie brought in $51.6 million, down a healthy 24%, for the #1 spot. That’s just a tad below the $54 million estimate that analysts had predicted for the film, and is still a very good number for the superhero blockbuster. The post-Christmas period is always a great one for box office, and Aquaman was no exception. In ten days, the film has totalled $188.8 million which puts it ahead of Justice League’s $180.8 million at the same point in its run.

The even better news is overseas, where the Jason Momoa film is now the highest grossing DCEU movie to date with $560 million. That launches it ahead of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’s $543.3 million international take. With a total of $748.8 million worldwide, Aquman ranks as the #3 DCEU film in worldwide grosses behind only Dawn of Justice ($873.6 million) and Wonder Woman ($821.8 million). At this point, the latest film is looking likely to close out its domestic run in the $240 million range or so. It is already a hit for the studio on its $160 million budget and makes the DC film universe’s prospects seem a fair bit brighter than the same point last year.

Mary Poppins Returns came in at #2 for the second weekend in a row. The Disney sequel garnered $28 million, up 19% from last week’s opening weekend. As we said, the end of the year means good legs for movies, especially when family audiences are in play. The Emily Blunt-starrer is a bonafide hit, but it is doing decent business and won’t be losing any money for the studio. As of now it sits at $98.9 million domestically and $173.3 million worldwide, with thirty-seven markets in play so far. The film is looking likely to hold on in the next few weeks on the way to $130 million domestically, and will be able to find at least a break-even point against its $130 million budget thanks in part to overseas grosses.

Bumblebee was down a light 5% in its second weekend to $20.5 million, a solid number for the Transformers spinoff. The 1980s-set film is by no means a revival of the franchise for Paramount, to be fair. At a $66.8 million total over ten days, the film hasn’t even reached the first weekend grosses of Transformers: The Last Knight. But it’s also important to note that the action film is barely more than half The Last Knight’s budget at $130 million. Worldwide grosses sit at $156.8 million and there’s plenty of international money to come, with China’s opening still to come this Friday. China amounted to half of The Last Knight’s international totals and almost half of Age of Extinction’s $858.6 million overseas. Odds are good that Paramount will avoid a loss here, though profits won’t be high. A $125 million domestic gross still seems to be likely.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse saw an 11% bump in its third weekend, bringing in $18.3 million. The animated Sony/Marvel film is up to $103.6 million domestically and $213.2 million worldwide with Brazil and Japan as major markets still to come. The film’s domestic total still looks likely to end at around $150 million, especially if an Oscar nod for Best Animated Picture keeps the movie in the public eye. It will be a nice little profit for the studios against its $90 million budget plus marketing.

Clint Eastwood’s The Mule had the second-best bump in the top ten, jumping 24% in its third weekend with $11.8 million. The drama, which Eastwood directed and stars in, has brought its totals to $60.7 million to date. The film is looking to be another strong long-term play for Warner Bros. and Eastwood, with a $90 million domestic total looking likely. Its chances at bringing in a profit for the studio is looking better and better at this point, especially if some foreign grosses can be added to the mix. The budget was $50 million.

The first new film of the weekend opened all the way down at #6 in Vice. The Adam McKay-directed Dick Cheney biopic brought in a moderate $7.8 million in its first weekend of wide release. That’s slightly below the $9 million that most expected it to do, but isn’t the worst opening it could have had considering the nature of the film. Political biopics are are notoriously divisive and that often limits their box office appeal. The similarly-themed W. from Oliver Stone grossed only $12.8 million in its first six days; by comparison, Vice (which opened on Tuesday) has $17.7 million.

Annapurna Pictures wanted to position this film as an Oscar contender, and despite moderate reviews (64% on Rotten Tomatoes), it may still have a play there. The film has picked up six Golden Globe nominations, two SAG Award nods and nine Critics Choice Award nominations. The film was marketed largely on Bale’s performance as Cheney under heavy makeup, which seems to have been good enough to at least bring the curious into the theater. However, don’t count on word of mouth to help this one. The C+ CinemaScore is lousy for the genre, and the film will need all that awards buzz to keep going from week to week. The film should finish off with at least $35 million or so, but will need a lot more than that to make back its reported $60 million budget.

Vice isn’t great shape, but it’s looking fine compared to Holmes and Watson. The latest Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly was DOA with $7.3 million, well below the $11 million to $12 million expectations that most analysts had. The film is all bad news for Sony, with no real upside here. Critics hated it (9% on RT) and audiences also loathed it (D+ CinemaScore), meaning there will be no word of mouth to rely on. And while the film has $19.7 million in its first six days, it’s not going to be able to keep its grosses up considering the fact that pretty much no one likes it.

That disdain also extends overseas, for the record. Holmes and Watson was a dud in its first set of international markets with a mere $4 million for a worldwide take of $23.7 million. Comedies can usually leg out to a triple multiple, and Holmes and Watson will be bouyed by the lack of competition, but a $40 million take seems to be about its end run. The budget was $42 million, and without foreign grosses this will be a money loser for the studio.

Jennifer Lopez’s romantic comedy Second Chance saw a second-weekend holiday bounce of 11% to bring in $7.2 million. That’s not bad for the film, which got off to a moderate-but-acceptable start last weekend. The film is now up to $21.8 million domestically and $28.4 million worldwide off of a $16 million budget. Right now, it is looking likely to close out in the US at around $35 million which will be good enough for some profit.

Ralph Breaks the Internet saw the biggest jump in the top ten, rising 39% in its sixth weekend for $6.5 million. The animated sequel now has $175.7 million domestically and $350.4 million worldwide. It is still moving on course for a $200 million-plus domestic final, which will make it profitable on a $175 million budget.

Rounding out the top ten was The Grinch, which finally fell off with a 50% drop in its eighth week to $4.2 million. Still, Universal and Illumination aren’t shedding any tears. The film has totalled $265.5 million domestically and $469.4 million worldwide, and should ends its run domestically at $275 million off a $75 million budget.

It will be a third weekend atop the box office for Aquaman next frame, as only horror film Escape Room is opening wide. That Sony film is targeting a low- to mid-teens opening.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Aquaman – $51.6 million ($188.8 million total)
2. Mary Poppins Returns – $28 million ($98.9 million total)
3. Bumblebee – $20.5 million ($66.8 million total)
4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – $18.3 million ($103.6 million total)
5. The Mule – $11.8 million ($60.7 million total)
6. Vice – $7.8 million ($17.7 million total)
7. Holmes and Watson – $7.3 million ($19.7 million total)
8. Second Act – $7.2 million ($21.8 million total)
9. Ralph Breaks the Internet – $6.5 million ($175.7 million total)
10. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch – $4.2 million ($265.5 million total)