HOLLYWOOD—I was slightly skeptical on how the DC Comics superhero “Aquaman” would perform at the box-office, but it appears the flick has found itself a unique audience. For the second consecutive weekend, “Aquaman” dazzled audiences to the tune of $51.6 million. Not bad because the flick didn’t see a steep drop like so many movies at the box-office after a week in theaters. Since its release, the underwater hero has earned $750 million globally.
Nabbing second place was the musical “Mary Poppins Returns” with $28 million. The film is certain to cross the $100 million mark at the domestic box-office by the end of New Year’s Eve. It’s amazing to see so many flicks which were released right before Christmas maintain their grip on the box-office. It’s a telling sign of what films have caught the interest of moviegoers.
Staying comfortable in third place was “Bumblebee” which added another $20.5 million to its tally. After 2 weeks in theaters, the latest installment in the “Transformers” franchise has amounted $64 million at the domestic box-office. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” landed in fourth place with $18 million after its third week in theaters. To date the animated adventure has crossed the $100 million mark at the domestic box-office.
Rounding out the top five is the Clint Eastwood drama “The Mule” which earned $11.5 million. This is indeed going to be the sleeper hit of the awards season people. The drama has earned over $60 million at the domestic box-office since its release. New releases that arrived in theaters mid-week were “Vice” and “Holmes & Watson” which did not inspire audiences. “Vice” landed in sixth place with $7.8 million, while “Holmes & Watson” earned $7.3 million.
The only new flick arriving this weekend is the thriller “Escape Room.” While tantalizing, I don’t see it dethroning “Aquaman” so expect the superhero to three-peat this weekend at the box-office.
