If the film can somehow get at or near $500 million, it would be enough to possibly bail Warner Bros. out (though it would still rank as a tremendous disappointment, given how well its predecessor performed). It’s likely to become the highest-grossing DC movie since “The Batman” ($770 million worldwide) and the biggest DC Extended Universe movie since “Black Adam” ($393 million worldwide). If anything, all that does is illustrate why the studio is moving on from the DCEU; that iteration of the franchise has been on a downhill slide for some time now.
The hope is that James Gunn and Peter Safran can revitalize the brand with the upcoming DC Universe reboot, which kicks off next year with “Superman: Legacy.” In the meantime, Warner Bros. has “Joker: Folie a Deux” arriving in October, which is another sequel to a $1 billion hit with a lot riding on it. Perhaps that will give audiences a chance to reset. Marvel, meanwhile, only has one movie on deck for 2024 in the form of “Deadpool 3.” It will be by far the lightest year for superhero movies in quite some time. Will that make audiences hungrier for them come 2025? That’s the big question.
Either way, DC is facing a great deal of uncertainty right now (as is Marvel Studios). 2023 was a very, very bad year for superheroes, with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ranking as the only outright live-action success. “The Marvels” also bombed terribly, so it’s not just DC. So yes, Jason Momoa’s second solo adventure as Aquaman is going to do perhaps just enough business to save face, but that’s not what any studio wants from a blockbuster sequel like this. The future remains on wildly uncertain ground.
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is in theaters now.