13 Movies That Shocked At The Box Office In 2018

3. Aquaman

Box Office: $1.023 billion (at the time of press)

Up until a few months ago, there weren't many industry analysts taking Aquaman seriously as a major box office threat. The prevailing opinion was that the $200 million superhero flick would do well to double its budget and maybe score $500-600 million if it truly resonated internationally.

A billion, however, was most certainly out of the question, so it's with a firmly slacked jaw that we observe James Wan's superhero epic confidently crossing the $1 billion mark, firmly carving out a place as the fifth highest-grossing film of 2018 and, get this, the 35th highest-grossing film ever.

A fine result for a widely-mocked fish-man superhero who wasn't exactly given the most spectacular introduction in Justice League.

If someone told you 5 years ago that an Aquaman solo movie would outgross Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and Justice League, you would've been right to laugh in their face.

China were once again huge contributors here with $284.9 million to date (27.8% of its total take), helping Aquaman become the decisive winner of holiday 2018's box office battleground.

Its unbelievable success will likely signal Warner Bros. deferring to standalone superhero movies in the future over their tougher-to-produce team-up pics.