
Photo: VCG
It’s rare for an American movie to premiere in China before the U.S. But given how successful “Aquaman” has been, we might be seeing more of that in the future.
The film is now the biggest movie in the world – despite not having been released yet in the U.S. Its China opening this weekend netted $94 million, Warner Bros’ highest-grossing China debut ever, according to film tracking site Box Office Mojo. “Aquaman” will not debut Stateside until Dec. 21.
China is on track to become the world’s biggest box office by 2022, and production companies are taking notice. Earlier this year, for the first time, China's film market overtook the U.S. as the largest movie market by quarterly box office revenue in the first quarter when it raked in 20 billion yuan ($3.14 billion).
Warner Bros has had major success in China this year, where both “Rampage” and “The Meg” made more than they did in the U.S., according to Business Insider.
“Aquaman” is set to surpass previous American hits in China in terms of revenue, including “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which made $96 million in its entire China run.
Related: Hollywood Blockbusters Do Better in China Than U.S. in Recent Weeks