Aquaman 2 Beats The Marvels at the Box Office
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has surpassed The Marvels' box office total in just two weeks. Here's why the sequel to the original Aquaman is outperforming The Marvels.
Box Office Battle: Aquaman 2 vs The Marvels
Two weeks into its run, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has already blown past The Marvels' box office total. The sequel to the original Aquaman, Aquaman 2 is the final movie in the original iteration of the DC Universe and comes in the wake of a tumultuous year for DC. The Marvels also serves as a sequel, following 2019's Captain Marvel. While both original movies made over $1 billion at the box office, the follow-ups have been struggling to keep afloat.
Aquaman's Comic-Accurate Suit in the DCEU's Aquaman 2018
According to two reports by The Numbers, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's global gross has already passed The Marvels' entire run. Aquaman 2 has earned over $250 million at the box office globally, while The Marvels sits at $199 million. The numbers are disappointing for both movies, as Aquaman 2 cost $215 million to make, while Marvel Studios put nearly $275 million into the Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel follow-up.
The threat of superhero fatigue has been plaguing the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DCEU for years. While it could very well play a part in the unsatisfactory results of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Marvels, the fact that there have been some positive results at the box office indicates that it is not the sole reason for the failures. Disney has not yet announced when The Marvels will be available for streaming. Aquaman 2 is still in theaters and is likely months away from a streaming date.
Each movie is surviving and failing based on its own merits. While Aquaman 2 has lost its expanded universe, it benefits from having the opportunity to serve as the finale for the DCEU. The Marvels, meanwhile, is meant to serve as a seemingly inconsequential movie in a multiverse saga that has slowly fallen apart. The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes also struck The Marvels at a more threatening time. The movie was released on November 10, but the SAG-AFTRA strike ended one day earlier, on November 9. There was little time to prepare or schedule actors for regular appearances on the talk show circuit or in any other marketing efforts. The same was not true for Aquaman 2, which was released on December 22. This could also be contributing to the massive disparity. Regardless of the reasons, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is outracing The Marvels with ease.
