Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom continues its surprising run at the global box office. The sequel, starring Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson, has now earned $433 million from theaters from all over the world. James Wan’s second adventure in the world of Atlantis has earned $309.8 million from international markets, with the remaining $123.2 million from its global total coming from domestic theaters. The King of Atlantis’ return has become one of the DC Extended Universe’s most successful recent installments, delivering a better performance than The Flash and Black Adam.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom earned around $27 million during its opening weekend at the domestic box office, having to compete against titles such as Wonka and Migration during its first few weeks of playing on the big screen. While the sequel failed to reach the box office heights of its predecessor, it still managed to perform better than the other DCEU movies released in theaters in 2023. Though Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has managed to swim faster than other stories set in the franchise, its reported $205 million budget means that this action-packed adventure is only a moderate success for Warner Bros.
The plot of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom follows Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) as he struggles to become a beloved King of Atlantis. As if ruling over an entire civilization wasn’t hard enough, Aquaman now had to raise a child alongside Mera (Amber Heard), and taking care of a baby could turn out to be as difficult as ruling over the depths of the ocean. At the same time, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) still harbors his revenge mission from the first movie, and now he intends to use an ancient Atlantean weapon known as the Black Trident to do so.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom featured the return of Momoa in the titular role, but it also added new characters to Wan’s sequel. For instance, Martin Short voiced Kingfish, a giant creature who rules over the ocean’s criminal underworld while Vincent Regan appeared as Atlan, the first King of Atlantis. The movie also featured the return of Patrick Wilson in the role of Orm, Arthur’s half-brother and the main antagonist from the first Aquaman movie. Nicole Kidman reprised her role as Atlanna, mother to Momoa’s Arthur Curry and Wilson’s Orm. Randall Park, known for his roles in WandaVision and The Office, returned as Doctor Stephen Shin, a marine biologist knowledgable about Atlantis and its culture.
