This film earned many times as much as Salaar and Dunki worldwide but could not prevent being a box office failure. Here's how
Dunki and Salaar were not the only big films to release on the Christmas weekend. That weekend also saw the release of a mega superhero film, a $200 million (Rs 1700 crore) budget action extravaganza that was expected to reboot and revive a failing franchise. And the film beat Salaar, Dunki, and even Animal in overseas collections. But its budget meant that it was a failure, and such a massive one that it killed the franchise.
How Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom beat Salaar and Dunki
The comparison between these three films should end at the release weekend because of the difference in scale but for the sake of posterity, it can be said that Aquaman 2, starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, ‘beat’ these two. The film was a flop in India, earning less than Rs 20 crore, while both Salaar and Dunki minted money. Overseas, however, it was a different story. Outside of its home market of North America, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has earned a massive $234 million (Rs 1944 crore). In comparison, both Salaar and Dunki have overseas collections of around $16 million (Rs 132 crore), while Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal shades them with a collection of $29 million (Rs 244 crore) overseas. Even blockbusters like RRR and Jawan – which earned $50 million (over Rs 400 crore) overseas – are no match for the DC extravaganza.
Why Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was a flop
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was meant to be the last film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) paving the way for a new DCU. It was meant to be the bridge between the two, leaving some semblance of positive legacy for the failing DCEU, which has been marred by critical and commercial flops. However, the film opened to universally bad reviews and underwhelming numbers at the box office. Its $200-215 million budget meant that the film needed to gross over $500-600 million to be considered a success but it looks unlikely that Aquaman 2 will get that far. In fact, in its second weekend, it lost to a much smaller title Wonka. This underperformance is the final nail in the coffin of the DCEU. The universe was started 11 years ago as a response to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but ended up being a massive failure.
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