‘Aquaman’ Eclipses ‘Justice League’ First-Week Box Office With $137 Million

The film is projected to earn around $750 million at the global box office by Sunday.

Aquaman has provided a much-needed boost to the DC Extended Universe.

Since hitting theaters last week, the James Wan-directed film has raked in $137.2 million at the domestic box office—about $6.4 million more than what Justice League earned in its debut week. Deadline notes that Aquaman's box office gross includes pre-release screenings.

Though it had the lowest domestic box office opening for the DCEU, the Warner Bros. film was able to defeat Mary Poppins Returns and Bumblebee for the No. 1 spot with nearly $70 million. Justice League opened with about $93.8 million, and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice debuted with $166 million.

Aquaman is expected to earn an additional $54 million in its second weekend, bringing its total to $191.2 million. The film is projected to gross around $750 million at the global box office by Sunday. Since debuting overseas four weeks ago, the superhero flick has continued to perform well in major markets, earning $249 million in China, $20.3 million Brazil, and $19.2 million in Mexico. Aquaman will open in Italy on Jan. 1 and in Japan on Feb. 8. It's a solid bet that the movie will pass the $1 billion mark at the international box office.

Prior to the U.S. debut, James Wan spoke about the film's potential success, insisting it was all on his shoulders. "It's pretty crazy. For as big a movie as Aquaman is, I could not have had more freedom," the director told the New York Times. "I had all the big tools and the budget to paint on a really big canvas, but with the freedom I had on, let's say, Saw or Insidious. So if the movie works, or doesn't work, I have no one to blame but myself."

Latest in Pop Culture