It's been over a month since the last big(ish) budget superhero flick hit our screens, in the shape of October's Venom, and although it can often feel like Marvel or DC are pushing out a new film on a weekly basis, the latest US tracking figures for festive releases suggest we've not reached superhero fatigue just yet.
The first official tracking is out for December 21 releases and Jason Momoa's Aquaman is expected to open with $65 million. That's a lot lower than the previous DC Films flicks. However, it's Christmas, which means smaller openings but longer returns as movie goers stagger their viewing over the holidays, rather than rushing out over the weekend.
Man of Steel kicked off the DC Films franchise in June of 2013 with a $128 million debut weekend, and ended up with $291m domestically and $668m worldwide on a $225m budget. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice scored a huge $166m debut weekend in March of 2016, but it suffered from poor reviews and divisive word-of-mouth and stalled on $330m domestic and $873m worldwide.
Suicide Squad received even worse reviews, but still managed a $133m debut weekend and thus a $325m domestic and $745m worldwide haul. Wonder Woman finally earned DC some good reviews and earned $413m domestic from a $103m debut weekend in June of 2017, and $822m.
Justice League opened with just $93 million last November and crawled to $229m domestic, and $659m worldwide on a circa $300m budget. That brings us to Aquaman, and, yes, James Wan's aquatic adventure is not tracking anywhere near even the $93m launch of Justice League.
But the movie cost closer to $175 million and is absolutely banking on a long holiday run. Save for the last three Star Wars movies, no December release has ever opened higher than The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($84m in 2012).
The holiday season essentially gives movies a two week opening weekend. With the only other notable release of the weekend being Etan (not Ethan) Cohen's unfancied Holmes and Watson, Aquaman could prove a surprise high point on DC's box office line graph.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Honeymoonish
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
