Box Office: 'Aquaman' Rules Christmas Eve, Crosses $500M Globally
On Christmas Day, the marquee gets even more crowded when 'Vice' and 'Holmes and Watson' open.
Warner Bros.' Aquaman continued to rule the holiday box office Christmas Eve, earning $11.2 million from 4,125 theaters in North America and swimming past the $500 million mark globally.
The DC superhero pic, starring Jason Momoa in the titular role, debuted domestically over the weekend to $67.4 million, easily enough to beat Christmas competitors Mary Poppins Returns and Bumblebee. Aquaman began opening mid-December overseas, where it has earned north of $420 million to date. Its domestic total through Monday is $79 million, including sneaks.
Disney's Mary Poppins Returns earned an estimated $6.4 million from 4,090 theaters Monday for a six-day domestic cume of roughly $39 million (the musical launched last Wednesday). The sequel to the iconic 1964 movie stars Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Paramount's Bumblebee, hoping to revive the Transformers franchise, took in a projected $3.7 million from 3,550 locations million for a four-day gross of $25 million. Hailee Steinfeld stars.
Christmas Eve can be sluggish in terms of moviegoing. Ticket sales should pick up in earnest on the afternoon of Dec. 25 and stay at peak levels through New Year's Eve. The verdict on the performance of many year-end films will be based on how they fare during the corridor, versus their opening weekend.