Weekend Box Office Report: January 4-6, 2019

Aquaman is still king!

Kicking off a brand new year, the oceanic DC Comics superhero AQUAMAN held onto his box office throne for a third weekend with an estimated $30.7 million!

The former punchline has now more than proven his worth, netting a domestic total of $259.7 million after three weekends to become the seventh-biggest release of 2018.

Capping off a record-breaking box office year that soared to $11.8 billion domestic and $41 billion worldwide, director James Wan's eye-popping underwater undertaking has also collected an extraordinary $940 million worldwide (coincidentally the same global total as aquatic adventure FINDING NEMO).

With that worldwide figure, AQUAMAN has crushed his fellow DC "Extended Universe" colleagues WONDER WOMAN ($821 million) and BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE ($873 million). And for general DC Comics adaptations, the totals of Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT ($1 billion) and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES ($1.08 billion) are still potentially within his trident's reach.

In terms of other comic competition, Jason Momoa's beefy Atlantean has also defeated the worldwide totals of VENOM ($855 million), THOR: RAGNAROK ($854 million) and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 ($863 million), not to many every single SPIDER-MAN and X-MEN movie made so far.

Opening in second place was the new thriller ESCAPE ROOM with $18 million.

The PG-13 horror movie, featuring Deborah Ann Woll (of Netflix's "Daredevil") and Taylor Russell (of Netflix's "Lost in Space"), only cost a reported $9 million.

Critics had mixed feelings about being locked in a murder maze with strangers, giving the movie a 53% average on Rotten Tomatoes. You can find the JoBlo review HERE.

In third place was Disney's MARY POPPINS RETURNS with $15.7 million. The PG-rated musical sequel with Emily Blunt as the magical nanny has made $138.7 million domestic and $257.9 million worldwide after three weeks (it cost a reported $130 million).

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE stuck around in fourth place with $13 million, webbing a domestic total of $133.8 million after four weekends. The PG-rated animated feature currently has a worldwide total of $275.3 million on a reported $90 million cost.

The PG-13 TRANSFORMERS prequel BUMBLEBEE was in fifth place with $12.7 million, motoring close to $100 million domestic on its third weekend. Hailee Steinfeld and her robotic yellow companion have scooped up $289 million worldwide (on a $135 million reported cost).

Actor-director Clint Eastwood's R-rated drama THE MULE was in sixth place with $9 million as the $50 million crime thriller has puttered to a domestic total of $81.8 million after four weeks.

The R-rated Dick Cheney biopic VICE was in seventh place with $5.8 million, slipping by just 25% from its first weekend. Director Adam McKay's $60 million comedy-drama with Christian Bale as the former U.S. Vice President has a domestic total of $29.7 million since its Christmas Day release.

Jennifer Lopez's comedy SECOND ACT stayed in eighth place with $4.9 million, taking the $16 million office romcom to $32.9 million domestic and $42.8 million worldwide on its third weekend.

In ninth place again was Disney's RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET with $4.6 million, bringing it to a domestic total of $187.1 million (still a bit short of the original WRECK-IT RALPH's $189.4 million finish). The $175 million animated sequel now has a worldwide total of $404.8 million.

Closing out the list was the PG-13 comedy HOLMES & WATSON with $3.4 million, a 54% plunge from last weekend (undoubtedly due in part to some horrendous reviews). Since arriving on Christmas Day, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly's version of the renowned detectives has a domestic total of $28.4 million and $35.5 million worldwide, on a reported $42 million cost.

Outside the chart, THE GRINCH finally departed after planning his holiday heist for two months in the Top 10. In the land of limited releases, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic ON THE BASIS OF SEX did solid business with $1.6 million for the weekend, while period drama THE FAVOURITE has a $19.3 million domestic total.

Next weekend offers the Keanu Reeves sci-fi thriller REPLICAS, the Kevin Hart/Bryan Cranston drama THE UPSIDE and the canine adventure A DOG'S WAY HOME.

What was your favorite movie of 2018? VOTE HERE!