While Aquaman isn’t tracking too well at the box office right now, the DCEU film is far from doomed. Early reactions to Wan’s superhero movie continue to be positive, with the initial consensus being that Aquaman is an entertaining blockbuster and a welcome recovery for DC’s larger franchise after last year’s infamous misfire with Justice League. Assuming that critics have similar feelings about the film, that good word of mouth should help Aquaman’s cause and may lead to a bigger opening weekend take than currently projected. Moreover, films that generate enthusiastic buzz typically have strong legs over the winter holiday and New Year frames (see last year’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, for example), and Aquaman could go on to gross a whole lot more than its modest opening would suggest.
That would certainly come as welcome news to Warner Bros., which has made some dramatic changes to the DCEU’s personnel and release slate over the past year. Aquaman will be the first DC superhero movie released since Walter Hamada took over as the President of DC Films and its success (critically and commercially) would ensure that his run on the franchise gets started on the right foot. It would also give the DCEU another hit sub-franchise to go with Wonder Woman, which should please anyone who thought Momoa’s Arthur Curry was one of the highlights in Justice League and hopes to see much more of him, in the future.
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- Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05 Joker Release Date: 2019-10-04 Birds of Prey Release Date: 2020-02-07 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25
