Aquaman: a tidal wave at the box office
After appearing briefly in Batman vs. Superman in 2016, and more widely in Justice League the following year, the superhero Aquaman, played by Jason Momoa, made his solo big screen debut in 2018 in a film directed by James Wan. The film marks a turning point in the representation of DC heroes in cinema, moving away from darker tones previously adopted by the Zack Snyder-led DCEU. James Wan offers viewers a more pop, uninhibited film, with generous staging.
The film’s plot follows half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) on his journey to prevent a war between the surface world and his underwater kingdom, Atlantis. Led by Mera, played by Amber Heard, Arthur must recover the legendary Trident of Atlan to claim his right to the throne of Atlantis, while facing his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), who seeks to unify the kingdom’s submarines to attack the world of surface.
Upon his exit, Aquaman is a huge success and becomes the biggest success of all time for a DC superhero film.
Stronger than the Dark Knight
With $1.1 billion at the global box office, James Wan’s film is doing better than any DC superhero film before it. including those from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. Until 2018 it was the last part, The Dark Knight Rises, which held the record for DC’s most successful, with $1.084 billion in revenues. The success is all the more remarkable considering that Aquaman had a significantly lower budget than Aquaman Man of Steel, Batman vs. SupermanOR Justice League (160 million dollars, compared to over 200 million for the first two, and 300 million for the third, a record).
In 2023, the sequel to the film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was released in cinemas (with a budget of 205 million) but was not as successful as hoped, with only $413 million in revenue worldwide. This is the last film of the DCEU, before the arrival of James Gunn at the helm, for a total renewal that will begin in 2025 with his film Superman.
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
