Why Aquaman 2 Failed at the Box Office and What Marvel Can Learn From This Debacle
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster Aquaman, was expected to be one of the biggest hits of 2023. However, the sequel generated less than $430 million in revenue while the 2018 made over $1 billion. Why did Aquaman 2 fail? Additionally, what can Marvel learn from this debacle?
The DCEU Didn’t Matter Anymore
Ever since James Gunn announced the slate for his soft-reboot DCU there was a collective loss of interest in the final DCEU films. After all, the last DCEU films had no connection or bearing to the future DCU films. With so much buzz-generating for the DCU, why should anyone care for Aquaman 2, which was the final DCEU film?
Superhero Fatigue
Superhero fatigue is real. Marvel and DC have squandered a lot of fan goodwill by releasing a lot of mediocre and underwhelming films and streaming shows, Every DCEU film released after 2018’s Aquaman either underperformed critically or financially or outright bombed. Asking why Aquaman 2 failed is moot since it seemed to have been a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point.
Cast and Scheduling Confusion
Michael Keaton was slated to become the Batman of the DCU in a Nick Fury-type role and have a post-credits scene in Aquaman 2. Then Ben Affleck was brought back to film new scenes as Batman in Aquaman 2, especially a post-credits scene. but that was scrapped. The Flash was actually supposed to be the final DCEU film, but Aquaman 2 took its place. Confusion about the film’s status helped it to fail as well.
The Amber Heard Factor
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have both seen their reputations and livelihoods destroyed in the wake of their legal drama. However, Heard has become a celebrity pariah on social media. Fans initiated multiple online protests and collected signatures to get Heard fired from Aquaman 2. Heard publicly stated in her infamous trial that Warner Brothers reduced her role in the film due to the toxicity of her reputation.
Amber Heard is not the reason Aquaman 2 failed, but her presence did not help it.
Lackluster Promotion
Despite the actors’ strike being lifted, Warner Bros. reportedly didn’t invest heavily in marketing for Aquaman 2. The film didn’t even have a World Premiere event, leading to a significant underperformance compared to its predecessor’s billion-dollar success.
Weak Story and Characters
Another reason for the epic Aquaman 2 failure was its weak story and characters. The film’s plot was convoluted and confusing, involving multiple villains, subplots, and locations that did not mesh well together. The film also lacked a clear theme or message, unlike the first film, which explored issues such as environmentalism, identity, and family.
Another major flaw of the DCEU was its lack of character development and depth. The DCEU rushed to introduce its characters without giving them enough time or space to develop their personalities, motivations, and arcs. The characters often felt like cardboard cutouts or plot devices, rather than fleshed-out protagonists.
Negative Reviews and Fan Word-of-Mouth
Another factor that practically ensured the epic Aquaman 2 fail was its negative reviews and word-of-mouth. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, who criticized its plot, characters, dialogue, humor, and special effects. The film also received negative word-of-mouth from audiences, who expressed their disappointment and frustration with the film on social media and online forums.
Many fans of the first film felt betrayed and let down by the sequel, which they felt did not live up to their expectations or respect the source material.
Intense Competition
Warner Brothers Discovery offered a variety of movies during the holiday season, including “Wonka” and “The Color Purple”. Meanwhile, Hollywood was also suffering from Sequel Fatigue too, as numerous franchise releases, like Mission Impossible 7, premiered. The epic Aquaman 2 fail happened because it had to compete with these diverse offerings, as well as films from other studios.
No Coherent Cinematic Vision
One of the main criticisms of the DCEU was its lack of a coherent cinematic vision and direction. It tried to emulate the MCU’s early success formula of interconnected movies but failed to establish a consistent tone, style, and quality across its own films. Some movies were dark and gritty, while others were light-hearted and humorous. Some movies were standalone stories, while others were heavily dependent on previous or future installments.
The result was a confusing and disjointed cinematic universe that alienated both fans and critics.
What Can Marvel Learn From The Epic Aquaman 2 Fail and Debacle?
The only Marvel film to release in 2024 will be Deadpool and Wolverine, a fact that proves the company knows it is trying to learn from its mistakes. Marvel has to reclaim fan goodwill and listen to fan complaints. The company seemed to once believe that any show or film with the Marvel logo would be embraced.
Marvel can learn a lot of things from the epic Aquaman 2 fail.
Create New Anchor Characters
Marvel needs to slow down and focus on anchor characters to replace Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. None of the new Marvel heroes or legacy heroes have connected with fans post-Endgame. Fans experienced the pre-Endgame MCU through the eyes of Tony Stark, Cap, and Thor – fans just don’t care about the new or legacy characters. The DCEU never had this goodwill with fans, which helped Aquaman 2 fail.
Re-Focus on Characters and Story
Post-Endgame, none of the MCU storylines and characters have been compelling or engaging. Characters like Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, the new Captain America, IronHeart, and so on have not established story arcs, motivations, or character traits that make them interesting to watch. It’s almost like the MCU is slowly morphing into the DCEU in this sense, and the DCEU died with Aquaman 2 because of these long-running faults.
Start with a Fresh Reboot
Finally, the biggest lesson the MCU can learn from the epic Aquaman 2 fail is to start over with a fresh reboot. Aquaman 2 failed because of its convoluted reboot connections to Flashpoint and its own irrelevance to the future DCU soft reboot. After the Jonathan Majors/Kang debacle, Marvel needs to reengage fans with a fresh reboot and not confuse them or underwhelm them in the way the last DCEU film did.
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Allen Francis is a full-time writer, prolific comic book investor and author of The Casual’s Guide: Why You Should Get Into Comic Book Investing. Allen holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College. Before becoming a writer Allen was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including saving and investing in your own small business.
I’m tired of hearing all about this “superhero fatigue”. That’s a stupid thing Hollywood made up to excuse piss poor writing and horrible directing.
If superhero fatigue is real, then Deadpool and Wolverine will suffer like every other craptastic movie put out. BTW, I saw The Marvels and I really liked it and so did my daughter. The only reason it was blasted by the internet is stupid ass little Twitch trolls going on and on about “girl power bad” crap. I saw The Flash and Aquaman 2. Those were bad, just plain bad in every sense of the word.
I think superhero fatigue refers to the fact that this film genre is now populated with bad films and writing, especially post-Endgame. Disney and WBD just stopped trying when it came to these films and shows, especially after Endgame. It caused a self-fulfilling prophecy where people really got tired of the genre. I think superhero fatigue is real, even though it is a buzz term. I don’t even think Deadpool and Wolverine will turn the tide – there must be a paradigm shift in how these films are made and renewed goodwill interaction with fans to repair jaded fan goodwill; otherwise, superhero fatigue will continue. It is just a buzz term that succinctly describes a real problem – people have just tuned out of these films and shows, especially Marvel, which was unthinkable a few years ago. Thanks for your reply and please keep reading.