Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The Christmas holiday weekend is usually a lucrative period for movie studios launching blockbuster films. However, a superhero movie released over the weekend underperformed at the box office, following a series of delays and setbacks.
What Happened: News headlines focusing on Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) highlighted a potential merger with media rival Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARAA). Aside from the rumored merger, the company also released one of its superhero blockbuster movies in theaters.
Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the WarnerMedia merger with Discovery, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" was finally released in theaters over the weekend. The movie was filmed in 2021 and 2022.
The sequel to the 2018 hit superhero film grossed $27.7 million over the weekend and is expected to gross around $40 million for the four-day weekend. The Aquaman film knocked another Warner Bros. picture from first place to second place, with "Wonka" grossing $18 million over the weekend and an expected $28 million for the four-day weekend, according to estimates from Deadline.
"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" comes with a $205 million budget according to Variety, and the $40 million four-day haul will come in below estimates.
The movie grossed $80 million internationally over the weekend, bringing the worldwide total to $120 million. The superhero sequel did not get a release in China, a key market for movies.
The domestic box office for the Christmas holiday weekend saw a 7% decrease compared to the same period in 2022. The weekend was also down 43% from 2017, which was the last time Christmas was on a Monday, making a four-day weekend ending with the holiday.
The 2017 box office included the huge blockbuster film "Star Wars: the Last Jedi," which grossed $220 million domestically in its opening weekend and went on to gross $620 million domestically during its theatrical run.
The DC Comics films from Warner Bros. have mostly struggled in recent years with recent titles "The Flash," "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" and "Blue Beetle having opening weekend grosses of $55 million, $30 million and $25 million respectively.
The Aquaman sequel follows up from the 2018 title that opened to $67.9 million in December of that year and went on to gross $335.1 million domestically and $1.15 billion worldwide.
Related Link: Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Is ‘Not The Answer’: Analysts Highlight Deal Positives, Negatives
Why It's Important: The new superhero movie was filmed several years ago and comes at a time when Warner Bros. Discovery has put the DC franchise in the hands of producers James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Aquaman emerged as a successful franchise within the DC universe, with star Jason Momoa‘s presence significantly boosting its box office appeal. As the franchise evolves, he is among several past DC actors who might be considered for recasting in future projects.
Warner Bros. Discovery had the highest grossing movie of 2023 with "Barbie" taking in $636.2 million domestically and $1.15 billion worldwide. Outside of "Barbie," the media company struggled at the box office with its next highest release, "The Flash," ranking 23rd with $108.1 million domestically.
Several media companies have faced challenges at the box office in 2023, including The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which failed to hit the $1 billion box office gross on any individual title worldwide for the first time in years.
Several studios are delaying films originally scheduled for 2024 release into 2025 due to the impact of the Hollywood strikes.
Superhero movies were once recognized as one of the top genres in film and brought near guaranteed box office success. Recent releases from Warner Bros. and Disney have missed expectations, which could be a setback for the companies.
WBD Price Action: Warner Bros. Discovery shares trade at $11.29 versus a 52-week trading range of $8.84 to $16.34.
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