The depths of Aquaman’s success know no bounds. After debuting slightly below tracking estimates last weekend, the Warner Bros. DC film performed well throughout Christmas week, easily crossing $130 million domestic. Now in its second weekend, it appears Aquaman won’t be suffering the sort of catastrophic drop that can plague superhero films in their second outings. Instead, James Wan’s colorful high seas adventure pulled in $17.1 million on Friday and is on track for a weekend gross of at least $52 million. If that estimate holds, the drop would be a mere 22% from its first weekend—a far cry from the 69% drop that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice suffered in its second outing, though granted that was after a sky-high $166 million opening weekend and Aquaman is opening over the Christmas holiday, on the crowded summer.
Overseas, Aquaman continues to perform swimmingly as its international total now stands at a whopping $492.2 million with over half of that number, $249 million, coming from China alone. The film’s worldwide haul currently stands at $666 million and will cross $700 million before the weekend is out. Almost more impressively, however, is just how well the film is doing domestically as it’s expected to clear $200 million by New Year’s Day. There’s no getting around it: this is an unqualified win for Warner Bros. and DC Films.