NEW YORK – In a flood of new releases, "Aquaman" easily swam past "Mary Poppins Returns" and "Bumblebee" to lead the busy pre-Christmas weekend with an estimated $67.4 million for the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Without a "Star Wars" film on the December schedule for the first time in four years, a crowded slate of films sought to capitalize on the lucrative holiday period in theaters.
The DC Comics superhero film, which cost Warner Bros. $200 million to make, arrived already a juggernaut overseas, where it has grossed more than $400 million in three weeks of release. The Jason Momoa-led "Aquaman" reeled in $72.1 million in U.S. and Canada theaters, bringing its global total to $482.8 million.
"Aquaman," directed by James Wan, has proven to be a stabilizing "Justice League" spinoff for Warner Bros. after bumpier DC releases outside of "Wonder Woman." The film garnered an A-minus from audiences on CinemaScore.
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For the studios, the weekend was as much about setting themselves up for the period between Christmas and New Year's, when theaters are packed. With Christmas falling on a Tuesday, the weekend was a distraction-filled one, competing with some of the busiest shopping days of the year.
"We really kick off starting Tuesday," says Warner Bros. distribution chief Jeff Goldstein. "This aligns the stars for us in a really positive way."
Returns were more modest for Disney's "Mary Poppins" sequel and the "Transformers" spinoff, though each had reason to expect strong business through the holidays.
"Mary Poppins Returns," starring Emily Blunt, made its debut with $22.2 million for the weekend and $31 million since opening Wednesday. That was on the low side of expectations for the musical, which cost $130 million to make.
"Poppins," which co-stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, will depend heavily on legs through the holiday season. On its side are good if not spectacular reviews (77 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), an A-minus CinemaScore from moviegoers and four Golden Globe nominations.
"It's a great weekend to start yourself off on a launch pad into the holiday period," says Cathleen Taff, head of distribution for Disney. "We're looking forward to a long run."
"Poppins" still narrowly edged "Bumblebee," which opened with $21 million. That, too, is a soft beginning for a film that cost about $135 million. It's also far off the pace of the previous "Transformers" films, the last of which ("Transformers: The Last Knight") opened with $44.7 million in 2017.
But "Bumblebee," a "Transformers" prequel directed by Travis Knight and starring Hailee Steinfeld, has something the Michael Bay films never had: good reviews. "Bumblebee" was the weekend's most acclaimed new wide release, with a 94 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences also gave it an A-minus on CinemaScore.
"The pre-Christmas preoccupation for moviegoers affected everyone," says Kyle Davies, head of distribution for Paramount. "We played really well with great reactions.
"To me, this weekend was a dress rehearsal for the big push that starts Christmas Day."
Also in the mix is the well-reviewed animated film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," which slid to fourth in its second week with $16.7 million.
Clint Eastwood's "The Mule," about a 90-year-old veteran turned drug smuggler, added $9.3 million for fifth place, bringing its two-week total to $35 million.
Largely overlooked was "Second Act," starring Jennifer Lopez. The romantic comedy debuted with an estimated $6.5 million, drawing an audience that was 70 percent female.
But the real flop was "Welcome to Marwen," the Robert Zemeckis-directed fantastical drama starring Steve Carell as an imaginative man whose scale-model town helps him rehabilitate after a trauma. The film, which cost at least $40 million, earned just $2.3 million.
Still, the weekend managed to nearly equal the box office of the same weekend last year when "The Last Jedi" was in its second week of release and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" opened. Ticket sales for the "Star Wars"-less weekend were down a mere 2.1 percent, according to Comscore.
Year to date, the domestic box office is up 7.5 percent and is expected to just eke past 2016's record $11.38 billion sometime late Sunday or early Monday, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
"The collective and cumulative strength of these newcomers, particularly 'Aquaman,' and a huge slate of holdovers gave us a stronger weekend than anyone imagined," Dergarabedian says. "A superhero movie in December can make up for not having a 'Star Wars' movie in December."
Final figures are expected Wednesday.
Contributing: Kim Willis
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