In defense of “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” the first film had the full weight of Warner Bros. Pictures’ enthusiasm behind it. Team-up movie “Justice League” had flopped at the box office the previous year, but solo DC movie “Wonder Woman” had been a huge box office hit, offering hope that individual members of the Justice League could find their own breakout success. In a retrospective on the DC Extended Universe’s legacy, The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit notes that the premiere for the first “Aquaman” movie was a “raucous” affair, with a star-studded blue carpet, star Jason Momoa performing a Māori haka, and an afterparty at the Roosevelt Hotel. All “The Lost Kingdom” got was “a pre-screening reception for influencers at high-end shopping mall The Grove.”
This scaled-back marketing budget reflects not only the movie’s box office projections, but also Warner Bros. Discovery’s general attitude towards “The Lost Kingdom” and other leftovers from the Zack Snyder-led vision for the DC Extended Universe. The studio had already spent a lot of money making these movies, so they had to be released (or shelved for tax purposes), but throwing more money after them was likely seen as a waste since DC Studios already has a new vision in place. Courtesy of fresh co-bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran, there’s a fresh slate of movies planned for a soft reboot that’s been dubbed the DC Universe. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” was the final release from the original DCEU slate, and marks the end of that era.
Whether or not this change will register with general audiences is another matter. It’s not just DC movies that have been struggling; the once-bulletproof Marvel Cinematic Universe has struggled this year as well. If superhero fatigue has truly set in, it’s unlikely that a rebrand and new actors in the super-suits will turn things around.