Predicting The Success Of The Next 10 Major Comic Book Movies
4. Aquaman (December 21, 2018)
Predicted Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50% Predicted Box Office: $450m
Shazam! may have surprisingly won the DCEU its biggest plaudits at Comic-Con, but let's not forget that the first footage from James Wan's rapidly-approaching Aquaman was also revealed.
The director had teased that the visuals would be unlike anything ever seen in a comic book movie before, and he was certainly right about that. The costumes and world of Atlantis look nothing short of phenomenal, and the promise of warring factions riding sharks and giant seahorses into epic battles is nothing if not enticingly batsh*t crazy.
On the downside, virtually every line of dialogue in the trailer is as forced and generic as can be, and some of the visual effects look decidedly ropey. Yes, the movie is five months away from release but we all said the same thing about the seemingly 'unfinished' CGI in both the Suicide Squad and Justice League promo spots, and look how that turned out.
Every movie in the DCEU to date has earned between $657.9m and $873.6m at the box office, but it would be unrealistic to expect Aquaman to reach even the low end of those numbers. Not only does it mark the first project not to feature one of the 'Holy Trinity' of Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman in some form, but the late-December market at the multiplex is absolutely loaded, as mentioned elsewhere in this article.
Given the superficial similarities a total somewhere around Thor's $449.3m would be viewed as a success, although it could easily go higher if it becomes just the second DCEU movie to be certified 'Fresh' on Rotten Tomatoes which is well within reach, as Wan has proven himself adept at putting fresh spins on familiar genre trappings with four of his last five directorial efforts scoring between 66% and 86%.