(THR) Warner Bros.’ DC superhero tentpole Aquaman is already making a huge splash on its opening day in China, the first major market where the film is released.
As of 5 p.m. Beijing time on Friday, Aquaman had earned RMB 89 million ($12.9 million), plus RMB 9 million ($1.3 million) in midnight previews, making for a powerful start of RMB 98 million ($14.2 million), according to data from leading Asian box-office tracker Artisan Gateway. The total can be expected to swell as the evening progresses in China.
The film is also earning rave local reviews, scoring 8.4/10 from reviews aggregator Douban and 9.5/10 from leading ticketing app Maoyan, some of the highest scores of the year for a Hollywood film.
The buzz and big start both augur for a huge opening-weekend haul for the high-stakes superhero movie.
Warner Bros. decided to unfurl Aquaman first in China, followed by additional foreign markets next week, to get a jump on a crowded pack of year-end holiday films, including Mary Poppins Returns and the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee.
Aquaman is set to debut in North America on Dec. 21, the beginning of the lucrative year-end holiday corridor.
Directed by James Wan and starring Jason Momoa in the titular role, Aquaman looks set to exceed $60 million in its debut at the Chinese box office, which would be the biggest start to date for a DC title in the territory.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter by
