After passing the worldwide total of “Justice League” on Friday, “Aquaman” is on its way to becoming Warner Bros’ first billion-dollar release since “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012.
In the second weekend of its domestic run, “Aquaman” has added an estimated $51.5 million, holding on strong this holiday season with just a 24 percent drop from its $67.4 million opening. The film now has a 10-day total of $188.7 million, with IMAX’s $24.8 million accounting for 13 percent of that figure. Worldwide, the film now has a total of $748.8 million, and is now the highest grossing DC film in Chinese box office history with $260 million.
In second place is Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” which is following the box office trajectory of previous holiday season musicals like “The Greatest Showman” with a second weekend total of $28 million. That’s approximately a 21 percent increase over its opening weekend, and puts the film around $100 million domestic after 12 days in theaters.
In third is Paramount’s “Bumblebee,” which wasn’t able to improve on its opening with “Aquaman” still peeling off much of the “Transformers” spinoff’s core demographic. With a $20.5 million second weekend, the blockbuster has an estimated 10-day total of $64 million. Sony’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” did see an increase in its third weekend, boosting 12 percent for a total of $18.6 million. That pushes its domestic total to $104 million.
Warner Bros. completes the top five with “The Mule,” which also saw a third weekend increase to $11.9 million, pushing its total to $60 million. In sixth is Annapurna’s “Vice,” which earned $7.8 million in its first weekend and is reporting a six-day launch of $17.7 million after opening on Christmas Day. The film has earned six Golden Globe nominations, but has a reported $60 million budget and will face a tough road to profitability. Reactions to the political satire about vice president Dick Cheney have been expectedly polarized, with a C+ on CinemaScore and a 66 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
In seventh is Sony’s “Holmes & Watson,” which is looking at a $20 million six-day launch against a $42 million budget. Critics and audiences alike have panned the film, with a D+ on CinemaScore and just 9 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The comedy stayed just above the second weekend of STX’s “Second Act,” a $16 million film which is already turning a profit after making $7.2 million this weekend for a 10-day total of $21.8 million.