Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom General Discussion thread

[Filmfreak]

WB just have no faith in this at all so they?

There were multiple reports of bad test screenings, reshoots to "fix" the film and problems between Wan and the studio. I don't know how much truth there is to those (Wan denied it) but extremely slow marketing and last minute embargoes certainly align with that. I think they won't to bury this and get it over with in order to move on with their reboot. The only reason they kept Aquaman for this year instead of delaying it when the strike was happening was to rip off the band aid and be done with the DCEU once and for all.

The fact that even Momoa himself is saying it's highly unlikely he'll play that role again shows they're not even keeping pretenses anymore. They know people won't show up.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

There were multiple reports of bad test screenings, reshoots to "fix" the film and problems between Wan and the studio. I don't know how much truth there is to those (Wan denied it) but extremely slow marketing and last minute embargoes certainly align with that. I think they won't to bury this and get it over with in order to move on with their reboot. The only reason they kept Aquaman for this year instead of delaying it when the strike was happening was to rip off the band aid and be done with the DCEU once and for all.

The fact that even Momoa himself is saying it's highly unlikely he'll play that role again shows they're not even keeping pretenses anymore. They know people won't show up.

WHich I totally get but they’re a business at the end of the day and they don’t seem to care this will make no money.

 

[Filmfreak]

WHich I totally get but they’re a business at the end of the day and they don’t seem to care this will make no money.

My understanding is they realise they have a stinker and they want to spend as little as possible to market this, because they know it's going to lose a lot of money (and because WB doesn't even have money at the moment), but at the same time they want this to fly under the radar so that it doesn't damage the brand even further. Whether I agree with that or not is another discussion, but I believe this is how they think.

 

[DyeLorean]

I don't know if revealing all the Gunn WB stuff so much beforehand was a good strategy. Superman: Legacy isn't coming out until 2025, they could've easily revealed the "New" DC after Aquaman 2, they had the entire 2024 to let the dust settle and start fresh. Now I'm just tired of the old DC as the new one and it hasn't even started principal photography yet. They really need to keep news closer to their chest.

 

[Filmfreak]

They couldn't realistically have kept such a big project so far into pre-production a secret, with most of the casting being complete, including, of course, the new Superman actor himself, three months before shooting.

 

[Comicbookguy339]

Oof.

 

[kguillou]

What a sad way to end a sad year for comic book movies.

 

[Mani-Man]

Because they dont have a huge pre-party?
Some of you really are weirdly obsessed with putting everything in a negative light for some strange reasons im not really getting.

 

[Comicbookguy339]

Because they dont have a huge pre-party?
Some of you really are weirdly obsessed with putting everything in a negative light for some strange reasons im not really getting.

Not having a red carpet premiere for a 200M blockbuster that's a sequel to a billion dollar grossing original is pretty much unheard of.

 

[Filmfreak]

Because they dont have a huge pre-party?
Some of you really are weirdly obsessed with putting everything in a negative light for some strange reasons im not really getting.

What's really positive about the film? The fact that there have been numerous reports talking about negative test screenings and a messy film that they tried to "fix" with multiple sets of massive reshoots? The fact that the movie has been delayed numerous times? That the review and social media embargo is being lifted a day before release, which at the very least indicates the studio has no faith people will like this? That WB decided to give the very first glimpse of the sequel to their biggest superhero movie ever three months before release? Maybe that the marketing in general for this has been extremely poor, indicating even further that no one believes it will do well. Or the fact that this is projected to make as much as The Marvels or The Flash, thus losing tens, even hundreds of millions in the end.

 

[DyeLorean]

Given how the previous film made almost 1.2 billion dollars... yeah. They are throwing the towel on this one.

 

[Comicbookguy339]

A massive drop compared to the original.

 

[Filmfreak]

Yeap, people thought China could save it but China is not the box office draw it once was, superhero movies are not as relevant and no one cares about the DCEU anymore.

 

[DCDAVE]

Maybe they should send this movie to HBO Max as a Christmas gift to fans.

 

[Link]

Some local reviews are out. 1 star out of 5.

Arvostelu | Aquamanin jatko-osa on surkea lopetus 10 vuoden supersankaritarinoille - Muropaketti.com

 

[Primal Slayer]

Oof.

The fact that The Flash got a red carpet (a small one but....a red carpet) and this doesnt...YIKES.

But at least Mera is reported to get somewhat decent screentime

 

[Comicbookguy339]

Apparently, it's actually doing better than expected in China, might double that 32M lifetime gross prediction. It obviously still doesn't come close to what the original made but at the very least a 60M gross in China should guarantee that it will do better than The Marvels WW.

 

[Gothamsknight]

 

[Comicbookguy339]

Will ‘Aquaman 2’ Sink or Swim at the Christmas Box Office?

Jason Momoa's "Aquaman" sequel is expected to float to the top of box office charts, but the comic book installment faces choppy waters.

variety.com

According to Variety even the scaled back marketing campaign still cost WB 100M. So this movie needs to make 600M to get into profit but will likely not make even half that. Another 150-200M loss for WB:

 

[theastsunnn]

The confusion in DC doesn’t help. I try to follow and even I’m confused about these different universes, WHO’s staying who’s going. Should move on everything about dc that’s been put on screen and have Superman be as fresh a start

 

[psylockolussus]

I was planning to watch this yesterday but then i had an appointment and by night, I was already too tired. I'm going to try to watch this today if not, Friday.

The end of DCEU is here!

 

[Bats123]

So, this came out today in Mexico and i saw it.
Yeah, that was awful. There's an occasional funny line here and there but the rest is so...lifeless, as generic and bland as it gets.

 

[Black Narcissus]

So, this came out today in Mexico and i saw it.
Yeah, that was awful. There's an occasional funny line here and there but the rest is so...lifeless, as generic and bland as it gets.

Feel free to spoil any of the mera stuff in the spoiler tags. I'm curious how much they gave her to work with.

 

[Bats123]

Feel free to spoil any of the mera stuff in the spoiler tags. I'm curious how much they gave her to work with.

Spoiler

She is in it more than the trailers would have you think, she gets hurt by Manta early on and is seen on a hospital bed but she comes back a little over halfway through the movie to save Arthur and then saves him again near the end when Manta almost kills him.

 

[Karelia]

As a fan of tbe first Aquaman film, I'm planning on seeing this Christmas eve. That said, my hype level doesn't exist for this, sadly. Maybe for the best though. That said, bring on Momoa as Lobo in James Gunn's new DCU.