Aquaman Preview Screenings Net a Record-Breaking $2.9 Million

CBR

By Cynthia Vinney

Published Dec 17, 2018

Before its official release, Aquaman still earned a record-breaking amount of money in preview screenings.

Before it's even opened wide at the North American box office, Aquaman is already breaking records.

The next entry in the DC Extended Universe earned $2.9 million from a single paid sneak preview on Saturday night at 7 pm at 1,225 theaters in North America.

Those figures demonstrate the strong demand for Aquaman's release on December 21, raising hopes for its opening weekend and beyond. The film is already a hit at the worldwide box office, raking in over $250 million over the past few weeks.

According to Deadline, if the film were included in this weekend's box office chart, it would weigh in at 10th place.

The sneak preview was the result of a partnership between Atom Tickets, Amazon Prime and the film's studio Warner Bros, which enabled Prime members to purchase up to 10 tickets for the preview event. Atom, an online ticketing retailer, reported that Aquaman broke the record on its service for most pre-sales. The film is having similar success on Fandango, another online ticketing service, beating Venom and Mission: Impossible — Fallout in sales in the first 24 hours tickets were available.

Aquaman is anticipating a big opening weekend of $57 million-$62 million. The film's box office should look even better after its first five days when ticket sales from Christmas, which falls on the Tuesday after the movie opens, are factored in. Aquaman's five day total is expected to be about $115 million.

Directed by James Wan, Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Temuera Morrison as Thomas Curry, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus and Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna. The film opens nationwide on Dec. 21.