Mary Poppins is drowned out at the box office by Aquaman - Daily Mail

Mary Poppins is drowned out at the box office by Aquaman: Emily Blunt remake takes only $22m while Jason Momoa joyride slams to the top with $70m

Aquaman made the biggest waves in North American theatres over the weekend
Hotly-anticipated Mary Poppins Returns made $22m on its opening weekend
Mary Poppins may follow past musicals in enjoying a long box-office run

Published: 09:23 GMT, 24 December 2018 | Updated: 10:18 GMT, 24 December 2018

Warner Bros. latest release Aquaman made the biggest waves in North American theatres over the weekend, drowning Mary Poppins' big return which failed to make half as much in revenue.

Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa, raked in $67.4 million in ticket sales compared to Emily Blunt's Mary Poppins Returns which made $22 million during its opening weekend.

However Mary Poppins still managed to fly slightly higher than Paramount's Bumblebee at $21 million, Exhibitor Relations estimated on Sunday.

Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa, raked in $67.4 million in ticket sales compared to Emily Blunt's Mary Poppins Returns which made $22 million during its opening weekend

Together, the three helped boost the year's domestic box-office revenue toward a record $11.8 billion, Hollywood Reporter said.

Momoa starts in a title role infused with new swagger by director James Wan, with Variety calling Momoa's Aquaman 'a bare-chested Hawaiian super-stud with long, shaggy surfer hair and all-over tribal tattoos.'

The look seems to work: The film has already taken in some $410 million outside North America.

Mary Poppins Returns, while lacking truly boffo opening numbers, is expected to follow past musicals in enjoying a long box-office run.

Momoa starts in a title role infused with new swagger by director James Wan, with Variety calling Momoa's Aquaman 'a bare-chested Hawaiian super-stud with long, shaggy surfer hair and all-over tribal tattoos'

The sequel to the 1964 movie stars Blunt as the stern but kind-hearted nanny (Julie Andrews in the original), backed by Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame.

Dick Van Dyke, Mary Poppins' Cockney-accented friend in the original film, makes a cameo.

Bumblebee, a prequel to the Transformers movie franchise, stars Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena.

It drew a lofty 94 per cent rating from Rotten Tomatoes as all three of the top grossing new movies earned strong A- ratings from CinemaScores.

Bumblebee, a prequel to the Transformers movie franchise, stars Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena

In fourth was Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, taking in $16.7 million. It has Peter Parker making way for Miles Morales as a black, Latino Spider-Man.

And fifth spot went to 'The Mule' from Warner Bros., at $9.3 million. Clint Eastwood, who at 88 says this will be his last acting part, directs and takes the lead role as a destitute 90-year-old who turns to transporting cocaine for a Mexican drug cartel.

Prior to Mary Poppins' unsuspected flop at the box office, Disney's live action films haven't had the most successful year.

Like Rob Marshall's reboot of the Disney classic, the studio failed to impress with other recent releases such as The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and A Wrinkle in time, which were not warmly welcomed by cinema-goers.

Solo: A Star Wars Story suffered a similar fate, which was surrounded by a bad buzz, possibly due to the negative reviews surrounding their previous film release, The Last Jedi.