Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Summary
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’slow box role performance completes a shocking movement for theDCEUas a whole . As the final film in the interconnected universe before theDCU reboot coming from James Gunn and Peter Safran , Aquaman 2sees Jason Momoa returning as Arthur Curry ’s Aquaman who reunify with his half - brother to prevent a ball-shaped nuclear meltdown , a followup to the firstAquamanwhich made over a billion one dollar bill back in 2018 . However , Aquamanand the Lost Kingdomhas cease up postdate an unfortunate movement when it come to all of the DCEU ’s sequels .
From 2013’sMan of Steelto 2023’sAquaman and the Lost Kingdom , the entire DCEU consists of 15 films within its institute continuity . Of those 15 , four were produced as direct sequels . While the hope with sequels is always to get a similar level of return and financial succeeder , this was not the case , Likewise , Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomcontinues the inauspicious course where every direct DCEU sequel made less than the movie that get along before it . However , there are some notable international factors explaining why that is .
The DCEU ’s timeline may be about to be boot in the DC Universe , but here ’s how to look on the DCEU in release order or chronological order of magnitude .

Every DCEU Sequel Made Less Money Than Its Predecessor
Not A Pretty Picture On The Surface
First Movie Worldwide Box Office
Second Movie Worldwide Box Office
Suicide Squad ( 2016):$745,744,980

The Suicide Squad ( 2021 ): $ 167,097,737
Wonder Woman ( 2017 ): $ 817,691,766
Wonder Woman 1984 ( 2020 ): $ 166,360,232

Aquaman ( 2018 ): $ 1,143,758,700
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ( 2023 ): $ 338,134,167
Shazam ! ( 2019 ): $ 363,563,907

Shazam ! Fury of The Gods ( 2023 ): $ 132,276,175
AlthoughBatman v Superman : Dawn of Justiceresembles aMan of Steelsequel , it does n’t quite weigh . first of all , it ’s not a sequel in form of address , and it ’s more akin to a team - up film than anything else . There was also a substantial fan political campaign forMan of Steel 2long afterBatman v Superman , supporting the idea that it was never considered a true continuation .
debar the prelude lineament toJustice Leaguein the DCEU , it ’s quite surprising that every individual DCEU continuation performed much low than its herald , particularly when it add up to theAquamanfranchise with the original making over a billion while the new sequel only made just over 300 million at the worldwide box office . The same is lawful for every DCEU sequel domestically as well . The secretive a continuation got to even meeting its predecessor ’s numbers wasShazam ! rage of the Gods , though that ’s not enunciate much as both motion-picture show are on the low end when it do to the DCEU ’s overall box situation returns .

Why DCEU Sequel Numbers Aren’t Quite As Bad As They Look
There Are Some Notable Caveats
Although the numbers count pretty bleak for the DCEU ’s sequels , it ’s also important to think how many outside factors affected almost every undivided one . After all , bothWonder womanhood 1984andThe Suicide Squadwere released during the pandemic with hybrid dramaturgy and home press release , something that absolutely affected their corner office performance . Additionally , bothShazam ! Fury of the GodsandAquaman and the Lost Kingdomwere release well after the new DCU reboot was announced by Gunn and Safran , leading many DC fans to question how worthwhile find out either labor really was , let alone examine them in the theaters .

