How Much Money Did Aquaman Cost To Make

How Much Did Aquaman Cost To Make?

James Wan's Aquaman is already well on its way to becoming a box office success, in large part because the budget was very manageable.

Aquaman is the latest installment of the DC Extended Universe and Warner Bros.' big blockbuster of the holiday season, but how much did it cost to make? Anyone who's been following the franchise since its inception in 2013'sMan of Steel knows that it's been a very bumpy ride for the property. In the beginning, mixed critical and audience receptions were offset by strong box office performances, but things eventually caught up with WB onJustice League. The hype and anticipation for DC's first team-up movie was dampened by largely negative responses, and the film ended up as the lowest-grossing entry in the franchise.

The DCEU should experience wholesale changes in the future, with WB overhauling the behind-the-scenes team, stars Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck reportedly out, and an increased focus on standalone movies that have limited connections to the larger shared universe.Aquaman emerged unscathed following theJustice League disaster, as it was already well into development by the time the crossover hit theaters. So, there's a fair amount of pressure on it to deliver and establish some forward momentum DC can build on. It would be great ifAquaman proved to be a hit, and it's in a great position to succeed thanks to its budget.

Related: How DC Films and the DCEU Really Works

Aquaman's production costs came in at around$160 million, which is the second-lowest budget in the DCEU (behind onlyWonder Woman's $150 million) and considerably smaller than most of the franchise's other installments.Justice League, which underwent substantial reshoots, sported a cool $300 million for its budget;Man of Steel cost $225 million; andBatman V Superman was $250 million. David Ayer'sSuicide Squad was in the rough neighborhood ofAquaman at $175 million.

Thanks to the international box office (China, in particular),Aquaman has already cleared this figure and is well on its way to turning a profit for WB. The film is already at $266.4 million globally, meaning it needs to earn just $53.6 million more (approximately) to break even. It should well surpass that in the coming days, seeing that it's projected to earn $120 million domestically over the course of the extended Christmas weekend.Aquaman is facing a ton of competition including holdoverSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and newcomersMary Poppins Returns andBumblebee, but it looks like it's the leader in the clubhouse right now and will be one of the biggest hits of the holiday season.

All in all, this is a nice rebound for the DCEU.Aquaman received generally positive reviews and is a smash hit at the box office. No sequel has been green lit yet, but discussions have reportedly happened, and it now seems like a foregone conclusion Arthur Curry will be back for a followup at some point. Perhaps this is the dawn of a new era in the DCEU and things will continue to trend upwards as the calendar flips to 2019.

More: Read Screen Rant's Aquaman Review

Aquaman (2018)Release date: Dec 21, 2018
Shazam! (2019)Release date: Apr 05, 2019
Joker (2019)Release date: Oct 04, 2019
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)Release date: Feb 07, 2020
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)Release date: Dec 25, 2020

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About The Author

Chris Agar (5491 Articles Published)

Chris Agar is a news editor for Screen Rant, also writing features and movie reviews for the site as one of Screen Rant's Rotten Tomatoes approved critics. He is a graduate of Wesley College's Bachelor of Media Arts and Master of Sport Leadership programs. In 2013, Chris was hired to write weekly box office prediction posts in conjunction with the Screen Rant Underground podcast's Box Office Battle game and his role expanded over the next few years. In addition to covering the latest news and hottest movie topics daily, Chris has attended numerous media events for Screen Rant, including San Diego Comic-Con, delivering content his readers care about. He credits Star Wars and Toy Story with launching a lifelong fascination with movies that led to his career, and now he has a wide range of cinematic tastes, enjoying the latest Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar contenders, and everything in between. Chris' favorite film genres include sci-fi/fantasy, crime, action, and drama.