When the DCEU launched, it was a foregone conclusion that either Batman or Superman were going to be the universe’s biggest box office draws. That, it seems, turned out to be wrong as Aquaman has become the biggest draw, and it’s about the cross a huge milestone only a few select movies have reached: the $1 billion mark.
After a successful run in December, Aquaman reached a cumulative global box office gross of $971 million. Now, it’s on pace to break through the $1 billion mark over the weekend, making it the first DCEU movie and first non-Batman DC movie to do so.
The only other time a DC movie has reached the mark was with Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. However, since last reaching the mark in 2012, Warner Bros. has had a hard time replicating the success even with numerous movies featuring Batman and Superman. And even after the unexpected success of Wonder Woman, it was Aquaman that broke the dry spell for the studio.
A lot of that has to do with director James Wan’s vision. Aquaman is a visually stunning movie that ignores the heavy drawn out drama that bogged down Batman v. Superman and Justice League.
Now, it’s a matter of how high Aquaman goes. Competition in January is pretty bare which means DC’s newest hero could be in for an even longer ride at the box office.
