Warner Bros.’ Pictures’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom swam to the top of the box office leader board over the Christmas movie weekend, with an estimated $28.1 million in North American ticket sales through Sunday.
Aquaman, the sequel to the 2018 superhero movie and again starring Jason Momoa, is expected to earn $40 million domestically over the four-day weekend. The film earned $80.1 million internationally for an estimated $120.1 million global debut,
Comscore
said, citing figures reported by the film’s distributors.
Warner Bros. is a unit of media giant
Warner Bros. Discovery,
which in the past week has discussed a potential merger with Paramount Global.
In second place was Warner Bros.’ Wonka, based on Roald Dahl’s book and starring Timothée Chalamet, with an estimated $17.7 million in domestic ticket sales in its second weekend, and an estimated $75.2 million cumulatively. Wonka’s worldwide cumulative take through Monday is projected at $254.9 million, Comscore said.
Universal Pictures’ Migration, a PG-rated animated adventure about a family of mallards who set off for Jamaica but wind up in New York City, was expected to garner third place with $12.3 million, and $17.1 million over the four-day weekend, according to Comscore.
Aquaman was projected to win 26.8% of Friday and Saturday domestic foot traffic, followed by Wonka, with 20.4% of foot traffic, and Migration, with 14.5% of foot traffic, according to moviegoer data from EntTelligence.
Taking fourth place was Sony’s R-rated comedy Anyone But You, with $6.2 million in weekend domestic box office and between $8.8 million and $9 million through Monday, according to Comscore.
In fifth place was Prathyangira Cinemas’ Salaar Part 1—Ceasefire, with $6.3 million expected over the four-day weekend, followed by A24’s The Iron Claw, with $7.5 million expected through Monday.
“This was a monumental moment for international cinema with two Indian and two Japanese films in the domestic top 10, and with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom generating some 67% of its debut outside of North America, this was truly a global-centric Christmas weekend at the box office,” Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Barron’s. He was referring to Indian cinema title Salaar Part 1—Ceasefire, Yash Raj Films’ release of Indian cinema title Dunki, GKIDS’The Boy and the Heron, and Toho Co.’s Godzilla Minus One.
Comscore estimated that domestic box office totals would be $94.6 million this weekend, and $8.73 billion this year through Sunday. That’s up 21% compared with this time last year, according to Dergarabedian.
Films opening on Christmas Day include Warner Bros.’ The Color Purple, based on the novel by Alice Walker, which inspired Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film; Amazon MGM Studios’ The Boys in the Boat, the George Clooney-directed film about the University of Washington rowing team’s pursuit of gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games; and Neon’s Ferrari, based on the 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine.
“Something for everybody at the multiplex this weekend, and with a total of seven wide releases this week including three yet to open on Christmas Day, the final push to the end of the box office year will be a wild ride indeed,” said Comscore’s Dergarabedian.
Write to Janet H. Cho at [email protected]
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