'Aquaman' makes a big splash to top N American box office
Warner Bros. release 'Aquaman' beat Disney's 'Mary Poppins Returns' and Paramount's 'Bumblebee' with $67.4 million in ticket sales over the holiday weekend.
New Warner Bros. release 'Aquaman' made the biggest waves in North American theatres over the weekend with $67.4 million in ticket sales, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said on Wednesday.
That put it well ahead of two other new holiday-timed releases, as Disney's 'Mary Poppins Returns' took in $23.5 million for the three-day weekend, flying slightly higher than Paramount's 'Bumblebee' at $21.7 million.
'Aquaman' stars Jason Momoa in a title role infused with new swagger by director James Wan, with Variety calling Momoa's Aquaman "a bare-chested Hawaiian super-stud with long, shaggy surfer hair and all-over tribal tattoos."
#Aquaman is the #1 Movie in the WORLD! See it in theaters and get tickets now: https://t.co/lVacxbKRjN pic.twitter.com/AhNWGnshFl
— Aquaman Movie (@aquamanmovie) December 26, 2018
'Mary Poppins,' while lacking truly boffo opening numbers, is expected to follow past musicals in enjoying a long box-office run.
The sequel to the 1964 movie stars Emily Blunt as the stern but kind-hearted nanny (Julie Andrews in the original), backed by Lin-Manuel Miranda of 'Hamilton' fame. Dick Van Dyke, Mary Poppins' Cockney-accented friend in the original film, makes a cameo.
'Bumblebee,' a prequel to the 'Transformers' movies, stars Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena. It drew a lofty 94 percent rating from Rotten Tomatoes while all three of the top grossing new movies earned strong A- ratings from CinemaScores.
Cast member Jason Momoa in a performance of a hakka (ceremonial war dance) at the premiere for 'Aquaman' in Los Angeles, California, US on December 12, 2018.
In fourth was Sony's 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,' taking in $16.6 million. It has Peter Parker making way for Miles Morales as a black, Latino Spider-Man.
And fifth spot went to 'The Mule' from Warner Bros., at $9.5 million. Clint Eastwood, who at 88 says this will be his last acting part, directs and takes the lead role as a destitute 90-year-old who turns to transporting cocaine for a Mexican drug cartel.
Rounding out the weekend's top 10 were:
'Dr. Seuss's The Grinch' ($8.5 million)
'Second Act' ($6.5 million)
'Ralph Breaks the Internet' ($4.7 million)
'Welcome to Marwen' ($2.4 million)
'Mary Queen of Scots' ($2.3 million)