Warner Bros./DC’s “Aquaman” is staying atop the charts in the final weekend of 2018, and will pass the global total of “Justice League” after three weeks in theaters worldwide and one week into its domestic run.
“Justice League,” which was the first film to feature Jason Momoa as Aquaman, grossed $657.9 million worldwide despite featuring DC’s most famous superheroes. “Aquaman” is blowing by that total and is on its way to becoming the first DC movie with a global gross of $1 billion since “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012. Domestically, the film earned $17.1 million on its second weekend and is currently estimated to earn $51 million in its second weekend, just a 30 percent drop from its $67.4 million opening.
Holding on to the No. 2 spot is Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” which is seeing its word of mouth gain traction with older and female audiences much in the same way “The Greatest Showman” did last year. The Emily Blunt musical earned $10.5 million on its second Friday and is estimated to earn $32 million in its second weekend, which will push its domestic total past $100 million after 12 days in theaters.
In a narrow race for third are Paramount’s “Bumblebee” and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” both of which are still facing heavy competition for comic book fans from “Aquaman.” “Bumblebee” is currently estimated to finish with the higher total, earning $6.7 million in its second Friday and estimated for a $20-21 million weekend total. “Spider-Verse,” meanwhile, is estimated to pass $100 million domestic after three weekends with a $19 million total.
Completing the top five is another WB film, “The Mule,” which is holding strong as a blockbuster alternative with an estimated $12 million in its third weekend. Outside the top five are newcomers “Holmes & Watson” and “Vice,” which were released on Christmas Day respectively by Sony and Annapurna.
“Vice” is looking at an $8 million opening weekend from 2,442 screens, which would give it a six-day opening of around $18 million. That’s slightly ahead of the $16.5 million director Adam McKay’s previous film, “The Big Short,” made in its first six days in wide release, but “Vice” holds a much larger production budget at a reported $60 million. Critics have been polarized on the film with a 66 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, while audiences have given it a C+ on CinemaScore. The audience poll was to be expected, however, as the film is a political satire about Dick Cheney and the Bush Administration.
“Holmes & Watson,” meanwhile, has been panned hard by critics and audiences alike with a 9 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and a D+ on CinemaScore. Holding a reported $42 million budget, the film is estimated to only make $7-8 million from its opening weekend from 2,776 screens and a six-day launch of $20 million.