Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is projected to open on December 22 somewhere in the disastrous range of $32 million to $42 million.
Domestically, it is projected to top out in the disastrous range of $105 million to $168 million.
These are early projections that could rise or fall over the next four weeks, but as of right now, this sequel to 2018’s Aquaman is shaping up to be a five-alarm catastrophe. What should trouble Warner Bros. Discovery above all is two things. First, there is no serious competition for that same audience that week. Second, that is Christmas week, which usually lifts all boats.
A mere five years ago, Aquaman grossed an incredible $335 million domestic and another jaw-dropping $817 million overseas. When it was all over, the global take was $1.152 billion.
The success of the first Aquaman could’ve knocked me over with a Karen Carpenter. That movie stunk. I’ve sat through some pretty lousy movies in my time, and I try to sit all the way through them. Aquaman was so awful I shut it off halfway through. As soon as the silence hit, the only sound was my wife saying “Thank you,” with so much relief you’d think I’d stopped stabbing a rabbit.
But things were very different in 2018. The whole country had Marvel fever, which bled over into DC. Everyone loved the escapism, the mythology, the extended universes. Sadly for us, Hollywood then joined the DEI cult and turned against the very people who had made these movies (even the lousy ones) hits. We were alienated, called racists and sexists, told our country sucked and that people are better than us based on their gender, skin color, and sexual fetishes.
The sycophants in the entertainment media blame post-Avengers: Endgame superhero fatigue, which is anti-science. Movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home broke box office records. Movies no one seemed to like very much — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — still made money. No one was fatigued post-Endgame. Instead, they were excited to jump right back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to see what was next after Endgame, only to discover what was next was affirmative action, racial quotas, identity politics, smug characters, and a shocking lack of fun.
When people lie to you about superhero fatigue, ask them why just five months ago — a mere 20 weeks ago — Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 was a big hit. Seven months from now, Deadpool 3 will likely make a fortune. But-but-but superhero fatigue! No, it’s not superhero fatigue…
It’s more like…
- Lousy Movie Fatigue
- I Know You’re Going To Scold Me And Make Me Watch Two Guys Kiss Fatigue
- Not More Of This Girlboss Shit Fatigue
- This Smells Like Homework Fatigue
- Stop Emasculating My Heroes Fatigue
Audiences trusted Guardians 3, so they went, and when that trust was not betrayed, they went again and again. The same will happen with Deadpool 3. Those franchises have held on to their audience’s goodwill, and if that goodwill is not betrayed, those franchises will remain golden geese.
This new Aquaman has a couple of demerits against it. Like the first Captain Marvel (2019), the first one made a ton of money, but it stunk. In the superhero frenzy, everyone went to see Aquaman in the search for that high. No one liked it very much. Secondly, Aquaman and the Lost Audience co-stars Amber Heard, who is now toxic. She’s not talented enough to rise above her ruined reputation over the false accusations she made against her ex-husband, Johnny Depp. Her career is over. Because he’s an appealing guy with charisma, Aquaman star Jason Momoa will be just fine.
The reported Aquaman 2 budget is $200 million. With all the reshoots, it must be closer to $300 to $350 million if you add in promotion costs. This sucker could lose a fortune.
People who hate us are losing hundreds of millions of dollars on movies driven by their hate for us.
It’s shaping up to be a pretty sweet Christmas.
John Nolte’s debut novel Borrowed Time (Bombardier Books) is available today. You can read an exclusive excerpt here and a review of the novel here.
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