Aquaman 2 Suffers One Final Humiliation, DC’s Nail In The Coffin

The worst part is that Wonka, which stars Timothée Chalamet in a prequel musical story about the titular chocolatier, wasn’t a massive success in its own right, collecting lower numbers at the global box office than was hoped for. Still, both Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Wonka are films under Warner Bros.

This means that – as far as the studio is concerned – it’s still gobbling up the top spots on the chart. The studio has one other film out now, The Color Purple, which was the big winner on Christmas Day, crushing sales on not only its fellow Warner Bros. releases but even nabbing the title of second biggest Christmas Day opening of all time.

While Jason Momoa may be delivering the punches in Aquaman 2, the film got caught in a rip current during its time both in theaters and leading up to its debut. The original standalone film in the James Wan-directed franchise, 2018’s Aquaman, was a massive success for the studio, so what happened here? 

There are a lot of reasons that fans didn’t flock to cinemas to see Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom as they did for the original and most of it comes down to the quality. After the first few trailers made their rounds, viewers slammed the CG that went into the production. The King of Atlantis and his friends, family, and enemies just didn’t pack the punch that many were looking for, with the effects coming nowhere close to dazzling audiences in 2023. 

There was also the involvement of Amber Heard as Mera, which Warner Bros. stood by following the actress’s highly-publicized court battle with her ex Johnny Depp. The fandom was torn by Heard’s involvement in Aquaman 2, but ultimately she was kept in the final cut with Wan sticking by her side.

Speaking of the film’s director, Wan spoke out against claims that the film was forced to undergo a multitude of reshoots. The rumors surrounding the extra time and money spent on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom were non-stop and, because the movie was initially set for a 2022 arrival, the pushback to 2023 certainly didn’t help things. It would also appear as though Wan has had his fill of superhero movies, with the director amped to return to the horror genre, eager to dig back into his roots. 

In the end, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was seemingly always destined to be a box office blunder. Marking the end of the DCEU, the sequel shows just how far the franchise has fallen with DC Studio co-leaders, Peter Safran and James Gunn, prepared to take the helm and steer things in a different direction. For now, we bid adieu to Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson, but perhaps we’ll see them somewhere down the line in a bolder and better production.

Source: Box Office Mojo