‘Aquaman’ Passes $1 Billion, But ‘Wonder Woman’ Remains DC’s US Box Office Champion

“Aquaman” is the king of Atlantis and the box office. The latest DC Comics adaptation has officially passed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, but “Wonder Woman” still remains DC Comics’ box office champion in the U.S.

“Aquaman” has earn $1.02 billion worldwide after opening on Dec. 7 in China and Dec. 21 in the U.S. It’s international box office has done phenomenally well in comparison to other DC adaptations from Warner Bros.

The Jason Momoa-led film has earned over $732 million overseas, which is more the worldwide totals for both “Justice League” ($657 million) and “Man of Steel” ($668 million). It nearly doubles the foreign box office of “Wonder Woman,” but it still doesn’t come close to the Amazonian princess’ domestic box office.

One of the differences between “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman” is that the former was critically adored, and critics tend to matter when it comes to a superhero movie’s box office in the U.S. While “Wonder Woman” only earned $409 million abroad, the female-fronted flick earned another $412 million stateside.

“Aquaman” had mixed reviews, earning a 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film has raked in about $287 million domestically after three weeks in theaters. However, that’s not far behind where “Wonder Woman” landed after three weeks with $293 million.

The difference between “Aquaman” and “Wonder Woman” domestic box office results are small right now. “Wonder Woman” was in U.S. theaters for a whopping 23 weeks, so it’s safe to say that audiences will have to wait a while to find out if Atlantis’ king will defeat Themyscira’s princess at the domestic box office.

On the worldwide scale, however, the James Wan-directed film will be the reigning box office champion for Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It also could be the top-earning DC Comics adaptation ever. “The Dark Knight Rises” ($1.08 billion) is the only DC movie to earn more.

All box office numbers are from Box Office Mojo.