Jason Momoa’ Aquaman dominated box office charts for the third straight weekend, retaining its No. 1 spot, with a solid $30 million for a domestic haul of $259 million.
The DC superhero adventure directed by James Wan has now crossed $940 million worldwide, making it Warner biggest comic-book title since The Dark Knight Rises amassed over $1 billion globally in 2012.
If Aquaman continues at this pace, its hero Arthur Curry could give Batman a run for his money.
Aquaman generated another $56.2 million in foreign markets this weekend, bringing its international total to $681 million.
The blockbuster is DC’s highest-grossing title overseas, surpassing the record previously set by The Dark Knight Rises with $636 million.
Aquaman didn’t have much competition to maintain its reign in North America. The only newcomer was Sony and Columbia Pictures’ Escape Room, a psychological thriller about a group of strangers who get trapped in a deadly escape room. The PG-13 horror film secured second place with $18 million when it debuted in 2,700 locations. That’s a strong start considering the film only cost $9 million to produce.
Mary Poppins Returns, a sequel to the 1964 classic, has earned $138 million at the domestic box office. The movie starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda has been a slow burn in theaters, which is to be expected for a movie-musical. It has collected $119 million internationally and over $250 million globally, though it will need to keep chugging a long at multiplexes to justify its $130 million price tag.
Paramount’s Bumblebee and Sony’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse are in a close race for fourth and fifth place. Both titles pulled in roughly $13 million over the three-day frame, so we won’t be able to officially tell until final numbers come in on Monday.
Hailee Steinfeld stars in Bumblebee, the Transformers origin story that has made $97 million since debuting just before Christmas.
The domestic haul of “Spider-Verse,” an animated flick from Sony’s arsenal of Marvel characters, currently sits at a robust $133.8 million.
Vice Stumbles
Annapurna’s Vice could get a box office boost if Adam McKay’s scathing Dick Cheney biopic will walk away with some trophies. The political movie has divided critics.
The $60 million film earned $5.8 million this weekend, taking its domestic tally to $29.7 million.
Sony’s Holmes & Watson struggles–badly. Despite featuring the comedic duo of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, the movie made $3.4 million over the three-day stretch for a tepid North American total of $28.4 million.
Overseas, the buddy comedy based on the famed detective and his trustee sidekick has made a dismal $7 million, bringing its worldwide bounty to $35 million.
It received bad reviews (8% average on Rotten Tomatoes) and will never recoup its $40 million budget.
