Warner Bros. and DC Films’ Aquaman will now arrive one week earlier in the UK than the U.S. when the movie hits theaters this December. The shared superhero universe has had a difficult path over the last two years since kicking off with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Though both Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad were financially successful, neither were hits with critics. The narrative around the DC Films franchise changed with Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, which was both financially and critically successful. However, Justice League took another turn, becoming the lowest grossing film of the franchise so far and earning largely mixed-to-negative reviews.

Still, Warner Bros. is pushing forward with a whole host of DC Films projects in various stages of development. Plus, the studio has three movies officially on their upcoming slate: James Wan’s Aquaman, David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!, and Jenkins’ Wonder Woman sequel. Despite the divisiveness of the DC Films franchise so far, fans are excited for the upcoming slate. In 2018, the only DC Films movie set to hit theaters is Aquaman, and fans are eager to get their first look at the film. While an Aquaman trailer hasn’t be released, we now know fans in the UK will get to see the full movie earlier than previously thought.

Digital Spy confirmed Warner Bros. has moved up the UK release date of Aquaman from December 21 to December 14. Digital Spy was unable to confirm whether the release date for Aquaman in the U.S. and other territories will be changed as well, but speculates they could also be moved up. This means fans all around the world could see Wan’s aquatic superhero film one week earlier, but for now, only fans in the UK will get the movie earlier.

It’s not uncommon for big blockbuster movies to release in the UK before the U.S. Up until recently Marvel released movies in the UK a week before the U.S., though the UK tends to get non-blockbuster movies - awards season fodder especially - later than the States. Avengers: Infinity War changed that tradition, though, with it set to open in most markets on the same day, likely to avoid spoilers of Marvel’s biggest release yet. Avengers: Infinity War also moved its release date up by one week, so if Aquaman were to do the same with its U.S. release date, that wouldn’t be unprecedented either.

In its December 21 release date, Aquaman is currently up against Transformers spinoff Bumblebee, blockbuster manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel, and Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s Holmes & Watson. The December 14 date has a little more breathing room with only Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie and the Peter Jackson-written Mortal Engines adaptation. If Warner Bros. were to move the U.S. release of Aquaman up one week, it might give the film more opportunity at the box office. Though, with so many movies battling it out for the December 2018 box office, the month is going to be tough no matter when Aquaman releases.

The UK release date change for Aquaman is good news for fans who live in the country. For everyone else, hopefully it foretells a change of release date in other territories. Until that happens, though, fans can at least look forward to getting an Aquaman trailer at some point in the next few months.

Next: All 26 Upcoming & In-Development DC Films

Source: Digital Spy

  • Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25 Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05