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Things We Saw Today: Aquaman Has Astonishingly Made More Money Than All of These Movies

Aquaman global box office

I liked Aquaman. The movie was a fun time with some impressively trippy oceanic effects and over-the-top theatrics. It’s a step in the direction of lighter, more vibrant DCEU universe that seems to bode well for Warner Bros. But did anyone expect it to become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time?

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I’m not the only one astonished by Aquaman‘s mind-bending success; as CBR points out, the movie has “done better at the box office than anyone could’ve imagined.” Over the weekend, Aquaman swam on up to the #20 spot on the list of the highest-grossing movies worldwide of all time. It’s also the highest grossing DC Comics movie worldwide ever. In the process, it passed quite a few movies that may surprise you.

In terms of superhero movies, Aquaman‘s world box office has easily topped the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy, DeadpoolWonder WomanThor: Ragnarok, The Dark Knight(s), The Hobbit(s), Batman v Superman: Dawn of JusticeVenomSpider-Man: Homecoming, and Spider-Man 3.

In fact, the only superhero movies that have still grossed more than Aquaman worldwide are Avengers: Infinity War, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, and Captain America: Civil War (which is fast losing ground).

Aquaman‘s numbers have also zoomed past the global box offices for movies you might not expect, like Rogue One, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jurassic Park, The Phantom Menace, The Dark Knight, Finding Nemo, and every Harry Potter film save The Deathly Hallows part 2.

Keep in mind that these are worldwide grosses—domesticallyAquaman is much farther down, at #57, and The Dark Knight and Wonder Woman both best it there, DC-wise. But the worldwide appeal of Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry and the haul Aquaman will end up with is eye-opening. There’s little doubt we’ll have a sequel soon enough, as well as a “horror movie spin off” about The Trench that we’re apparently going to see long before we have a Mera movie, because Poseidon was always the worst god and has no sense of justice.

(via CBR, BoxOfficeMojo, image: DC Comics)

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What did you see today, a blessed day?

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Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.

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