DC and Warner Bros.' Aquaman has made over a billion dollars at the box office worldwide. That's not a paltry number or one to be scoffed at, and it's no surprise James Wan has already spoken out about. Now, DC's own Jason Momoa is speaking out about the role of a lifetime and how Aquaman hitting a billion is definitely a career peak for him. He said:
BILLION DOLLAR UNDERDOG. from Baywatch to making what once was the most disrespected superhero into a billion dollar movie. no one gets to the top without the people that love them. My success is from my fans. All my aloha to everyone that had a hand in making this movie. Mahalo Zack for choosing me and mahalo James for creating this beautiful world.
DC and Warner Bros. have shifted direction away from Zack Snyder's vision of the comics universe; however, a lot of the director's original flourishes remain. In the case of Arthur Curry, things like Curry choosing Momoa's own wardrobe and the badass tattoos that adorn his body all spawned from Snyder's mind.
In his Instagram post, Momoa capably acknowledges Zack Snyder's contributions while also making it clear that it was James Wan who really brought Atlantis to life on the big screen. It's a deft post and a memorable one.
It should be noted that James Wan previously thanked a bunch of people, but spent an entire tweet focusing on Jason Momoa's efforts in the franchise after Aquaman hit the billion dollar mark. He said:
Secondly, I'll forever be indebted to Jason for turning Aquaman into one of the coolest, cinematic superheroes ever, and becoming the gold standard for this character for generations to come.
A few months ago, it was a bit surprising when Aquaman sales estimates went up from what was expected to be around $40 million opening week to around $100 million. It didn't hit the mark and ended up pulling $67.4 million, with headlines gleefully touting it to be the lowest domestic opener in DC history.
Just when people started writing off the movie, it kept enticing viewers over the winter holiday and flourished worldwide as well. Just a few short weeks later, Aquaman became the first DC movie to hit the billion dollar mark since The Dark Knight Rises.
It's journey at the box office isn't over yet, either, although the movie did nab second place at the box office for the first time during its run this past weekend. It lost to the new 2019 movie The Upside, starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston.
Aquaman still made $17. 3 million at the domestic box office this weekend, and it still has to open in markets like Japan.
Not bad for a movie that used to be an Entourage punchline.
