Aquaman is making a splash overseas.
According to Deadline, the superhero flick garnered an additional $27 million in its second weekend, earning a total of more than $179 million at the international box office. Aquaman is now playing in 43 international territories and will expand to 28 more hubs—including North America—next weekend.
The outlet reports a large chunk of the money is coming from China, where the film secured a record-breaking $24.6 million open on Dec. 7. As of Friday, Aquaman has racked in a total of $147.4 million in China, becoming the country's highest-grossing DC movie ever. (It's currently China's second-biggest superhero film, following Avengers: Infinity War, which earned $360 million).
Earlier this week, Aquaman debuted in major markets like Russia, where it earned $2.7 million in two days; Brazil ($1.4 million); and Mexico ($1.6 million).
It's a solid start, no doubt, but we'll see how the movie fares in the U.S. Aquaman stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, and Willem Dafoe. The James Wan-directed film will hit the states on Dec. 21, competing with titles like Bumblebee and Mary Poppins Returns. If the flick doesn't perform as expected, Wan told the New York Times he has no one to blame but himself.
"It's pretty crazy. For as big a movie as Aquaman is, I could not have had more freedom," Wan said. "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."
