'Aquaman' is Big in China
by EG
China is getting the first look at the new DC Comics movie, Aquaman, and they seem to like what they see. The film had a big debut on Friday and looks to be heading for a great run. Read on for details.
Warner Bros.’ DC superhero tentpole Aquaman is already making a huge splash on its opening day in China, the first major market where the film is released.
As of 5 p.m. Beijing time on Friday, Aquaman had earned RMB 89 million ($12.9 million), plus RMB 9 million ($1.3 million) in midnight previews, making for a powerful start of RMB 98 million ($14.2 million), according to data from leading Asian box-office tracker Artisan Gateway. The total can be expected to swell as the evening progresses in China.
The film is also earning rave local reviews, scoring 8.4/10 from reviews aggregator Douban and 9.5/10 from leading ticketing app Maoyan, some of the highest scores of the year for a Hollywood film.
The buzz and big start both augur for a huge opening-weekend haul for the high-stakes superhero movie.
Warner Bros. decided to unfurl Aquaman first in China, followed by additional foreign markets next week, to get a jump on a crowded pack of year-end holiday films, including Mary Poppins Returns and the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee.
Aquaman is set to debut in North America on Dec. 21, the beginning of the lucrative year-end holiday corridor.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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