How Much Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom Cost To Make & What Box Office It Needed

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Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom was the final installment in the DCEU, leaving it in an unusual place in terms of prospective box office success. As Jason Momoa's DCEU swansong, there were mixed expectations for the final sequel in the franchise, as while the first Aquaman was one of DC's most successful films - grossing over $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office - 2023 saw a slew of box office bombs for the superhero genre.
With that in mind, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was something of a wild card, with the potential to either be a real flop or success for a variety of factors. Though neither of the most dramatic cases came true, the subject of the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom box office still holds intrigue even some time after the movie's release, as perhaps one of the most unpredictable releases in superhero movie history for quite some time, and one with a notable placement that makes it all the most important as the last release in the DCEU timeline.

According to Variety, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was one of the DCEU's most expensive movies with a budget of $215 million, sitting close to the likes of Justice League and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. $15 million of that reportedly went straight to Momoa's own pocket, as the success of his debut appearance as Aquaman afforded him the chance to request a significant pay rise. Given the level of production that went into making the extensive underwater scenes in the movie, it's perhaps no surprise that it ultimately required a larger investment in order to be made.

The sequel was pitched by Momoa himself as the studio was riding high on the success of Aquaman. As such, the production budget was likely with the success of the first movie in mind and oblivious to the series of DCEU flops that would soon follow. This made the budget consequently appear like far more of a significant risk - but

Now, it seems like that budget could put the project at significant risk as the studio braces for audiences' diminished interest in the franchise as a whole.

How Much Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom Made At The Box Office
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom needed to pull in over $400 million worldwide to break even, which seemed a potentially tall task given the DCEU's later releases. According to The Numbers, the sequel overall made $434 million in its worldwide box office, which means it did clear this mark. While this is a more positive result than many may have expected, the matter of whether Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom can be considered a success is still a complicated matter.
Was Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom A Box Office Success?
Though Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom avoided the lackluster box office results of prior DCEU movies like Blue Beetle and The Flash, it's unlikely this was considered a major success given it's less than 50% of the worldwide gross that Aquaman made, drawing a less than favorable comparison between the original movie and its sequel. However, while the studio didn't rake it in with the release, the fact it broke the string of box office bombs is worth due credit in its own right.

Based on the controversies surrounding Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, its awkward placement in the DCEU timeline, and the fact that superhero fatigue also appears to have hampered the MCU this same year - as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels also saw lower box office results than usual from the franchise - breaking even was no small feat. As such, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom can definitely be considered a success of sorts, even if it perhaps isn't the DCEU's biggest hit.

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