`Aquaman 2′ and `Wonka’ take top 2 slots in weekend box office

LOS ANGELES – Warner Bros. dominated the box office this weekend, with the top two films in North America — the former a sequel, the latter a prequel, according to industry estimates released today.

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” opened this weekend to $28.1 million, while “Wonka” pulled in nearly $17.8 million in its second week, Comscore reported.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Jason Momoa in a scene from “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

In its opening weekend, “Migration,” from Illumination — the studio behind the Minions — earned $12.3 million to finish in third.

Sony’s “Anyone But You” opened with $6.2 million to finish fourth, followed by “Salaar Part 1 – Ceasefire” opened with almost $5.5 million while appearing in just about 800 theaters.

Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases, as estimated by Comscore, were “The Iron Claw” ($5.1 million), “The Boy and the Heron” ($3.154 million), “Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” ($3.15 million), “Godzilla Minus One” ($2.74 million) and “Dunki” ($2.71 million).

‘Aquaman 2’ performs best in Asia

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is the No. 1 film of the weekend globally. In offshore markets, it ranked as the top Hollywood title in 53 of its 73 hubs, according to Deadline.

“Aquaman 2” is tracking 14 percent ahead of “Black Adam,” 22 percent above “The Flash” and 42 percent over “The Marvels.” IMAX brought in $9.9M from international markets, including $6M in China to index 17 percent of the total box office there. The global IMAX tally is $14M from 1,522 screens for the 4-day holiday weekend.

Overall, “Aquaman 2” performed best in Asia where it was the top Hollywood movie in every market, Deadline reported. Singapore nabbed the biggest WB opening weekend of 2023, and in Malaysia and Indonesia, the Jason Momoa starrer was the 2^nd biggest opening for a WB movie this year.

In Taiwan, it was the biggest opening weekend for a superhero movie in 2023. (With CNS report)