'Aquaman' is the first DC Extended Universe movie to make $1 billion
Aquaman is officially a billion dollar movie now.
Just over a month after its initial release, in China on Dec. 7, the latest entry in the DC Extended Universe has become the 37th movie in history to make more than $1 billion at the global box office. It's also the only DC Extended Universe release to reach that milestone.
That's especially impressive when you realize that Aquaman, with just $287.9 million earned so far in the U.S. (where it opened on Dec. 21), is so far the worst-performing DCEU movie domestically after Justice League. Most of Aquaman's success -- $732.4 million, to be exact -- came from audiences outside the United States.
(To be fair, Aquaman's only been out in the U.S. for just over three weeks. It made an estimated $17.3 million domestically this weekend, its fourth, and it's likely to beat Man of Steel's $291 million take before next weekend.)
Aquaman may be on top for the DCEU but it's not the first DC Comics movie to hit $1 billion. Director Christopher Nolan's gritty Batman takes in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises both eclipsed, barely, $1 billion in global ticket sales. Aquaman currently falls between the two, with $1.02 billion in total.
This marks director James Wan's second billion-dollar hit. Prior to Aquaman, Wan was perhaps best known for his contributions to the horror genre; together with creative partner Leigh Whannell, he created both the Saw series and the Insidious series.
Both series have had big successes, but it was ultimately Wan's gig directing Furious 7 that marked his entry into the billion dollar filmmakers club. The seventh entry in the Fast and the Furious series, historically a popular one overseas, amassed $1.5 billion at the global box office.
Aquaman is only (only??) the fifth movie released in 2018 to cross $1 billion. Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Incredibles 2 all got there first.
All box office data provided by comScore and Box Office Mojo.
Topics Film
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
