'Aquaman' Unchallenged in Third Week at Box Office as 'Escape Room' Makes Strong Debut
Warner Bros. Pictures/Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Movie

The DC superhero movie swims past $940 million worldwide after adding an estimated $30.7 million domestically, while Sony's psychological thriller opens at No. 2 with approximately $18 million.

AceShowbiz - "Aquaman" still rules North American box office after being released last December. The James Wan-directed pic maintains its reign at No. 1 in its third weekend with additional $30.7 million to bring its domestic tally to $259.7 million so far.

Internationally, the DC superhero movie starring Jason Momoa added $56.2 million this weekend, bringing its total worldwide gross to $940 million. It is now Warner Bros.' biggest comic-book title since "The Dark Knight Rises" brought in over $1 billion globally in 2012. "Aquaman" has previously surpassed the Batman movie as DC's highest-grossing title overseas.

In fact, "Aquaman" faces little to no competition from newcomer in early 2019. The only wide release last week was "Escape Room (2019)", which is a psychological thriller from Sony Pictures. Still, the movie is off to a strong start with an estimated $18 million, ahead of industry expectations, to land at No. 2 on the domestic chart.

"Movies that open in the early part of January don't get a lot of respect, but this was a great profit maker," Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian explains the not-coveted slot. "Sony took perfect advantage of what is typically a marketplace devoid of newcomers and made box office hay out of it."

In third place is "Mary Poppins Returns", which drops one place with additional $15.8 million (dropping 44.4%). The musical fantasy film, which serves as the follow-up to Julie Andrews' 1964 "Mary Poppins", earned several nominations, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Emily Blunt at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, but unfortunately it didn't win any.

"Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" hangs onto its fourth position with approximately $13 million. Unlike "Mary Poppins Returns", the Spider-Man animated movie will likely receive a boost on this week's ticket sales after nabbing Best Animated Feature Film prize at the 76th Golden Globes.

"Bumblebee" trails close behind "Into The Spider-Verse" despite falling two places to No. 5 with an estimated $12.8 million.

Overall, the box office is already 5% behind where the totals were last year. In the same weekend last year, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" were still playing in theaters, playing an important part in the box office tally.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for Jan. 04-06:

  1. "Aquaman" - $30.7 million
  2. "Escape Room (2019)" - $18 million
  3. "Mary Poppins Returns" - $15.8 million
  4. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" - $13 million
  5. "Bumblebee" - $12.8 million
  6. "The Mule" - $9 million
  7. "Vice (2018)" - $5.8 million
  8. "Second Act" - $4.9 million
  9. "Ralph Breaks the Internet" - $4.7 million
  10. "Holmes & Watson" - $3.4 million

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