Aquaman tops other comic-based movies in China's box office. The movie earned around $118 million in its first five days beating records of other Marvel and DC comic-based movies.
The Aquaman movie is starred by Jason Momoa and Amber Heard and it is directed by James Wan. The movie is estimated to reach around $155 million to $166 million by Sunday.
According to Scott Mendelson, a Senior Contributor in Forbes, the movie is a sprawling, fantastical, and gloriously bonkers IMAX-friendly spectacle that gives viewers lots of movie in its 142-minute running time. He also said that the movie is a multi-genre hybrid of everything from Lord of the Rings to Avatar to Excalibur to National Treasure.
Aquaman's record beats the total Chinese sales of Doctor Strange ($109 million), Thor Ragnarok ($112 million), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($115 million), X-Men: Days of Future Past ($116 million), Spider-Man: Homecoming ($116 million), X-Men Apocalypse ($120 million), Ant-Man and the Wasp ($121 million), and Iron Man 3 ($122 million). It is now ranked as the fifth-biggest Hollywood superhero movie played in China. China and Venom played well in the Chinese theatres.
Aquaman started its international screening this Wednesday. The film was played early in China because of the China Film Group. It is scheduled to open in 40 additional nations this coming weekend. The film will be played in theaters in the United Kingdom, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil. The success of the film is expected to save the DC films franchise from the series of flops of superhero movies. The movie needs to be successful in other nations. It's a success its strength in China does not guarantee that it will turn out into a global blockbuster.
Warner Bros is expected to receive 25% of the total ticket sales of the movie. Given that the total sales are around $250 million in China, the studio will only get around $63 million which is not enough to save the DC franchise.
Its blockbuster hit in China, however, gives hope that it will also successfully play in theaters globally. The reviews of the movie are generally positive. The movie is praised because of its larger-than-life action, its fantastical spectacle, and its gee-whiz appealing characters. The creators of the movie are hoping that the movie becomes a mega-bucks event movie fantasy of this season. According to Mendelson, gives a different feeling which opposed to the expected reactions that it is just another superhero movie.
