‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Soars To Christmas

Aquaman avoided ever saying the word magic, but now that Wonder Woman 1984 has engaged the idea, Aquaman 2 can as well, and benefits from it.
The use the Dreamstone in Wonder Woman 1984 offers Aquaman 2 an opportunity to fully engage with the idea of magic. Although the original Aquaman had items and powers that seemed magical in nature, such as a quest for a powerful trident, the only reference made to these fantastic feats were phrased in terms of "advanced technology" and "evolution." This gave the impression of a tale of a magical quest that was afraid to mention magic, and so undercut the gravitas or importance of the main story line. A powerful trident makes little sense without some kind of context as to the ways in which it is powerful or important.
Although Wonder Woman 1984's Dreamstone wishes create plot holes and raise questions, the overall thesis that magic is real and dangerous is presented to the audience as a fait accompli. As a consequence, the story smoothly progresses, because there is no need to offer a further explanation as to how incredible plot points occur, or why the stakes are as dire as they are. The acceptance of magic allows the plot to move forward, with appropriate levels of foreboding. In Aquaman, the audience is told that the trident of Atlan is important, and that reclaiming it is a task that will prove Arthur to be the true king, but without being willing to use the word 'magic', the story is forced to be deliberately vague about why this is the case. When presented with the quest to reclaim the trident, Aquaman rightly quips "I've already got one of those."
Magic in Wonder Woman 1984 is costly - there's a reason granting wishes hurts Maxwell Lord - which gives magic rules that coincide well with the presented cost of trying to use the power within Atlan's trident in Aquaman. Since Arthur is told in Aquaman that Atlantis fell after attempting to harness the power within Atlan's trident, the presented rules of magic would be consistent, and moving to a magic-based origin of this power would also help to explain why the same civilization that created this trident did not understand how it would interact within the same framework.
Technology not understanding technology within the world's context presents differently from technology not understanding magic. Giving the audience a framework as to how to understand that magic will better contextualize it within Aquaman 2, and allow for a better adventure narrative world construction. Not having to stumble over the conceit of advanced technology would allow for a smoother flow into the adventure, evening out the pacing, and a broader world for the hero to explore.

Aquaman was very much an Arthurian style legend, and with the villain Black Manta returning in the sequel, serving as a stand in for the Arthurian 'Black Knight'-style returning nemesis, the parallels grow even more direct. An important part of the Arthurian tales is magical realism - the portrayal of magic as a part of a 'realistic' setting. As this is the case, Aquaman 2 can only stand to benefit from audience acceptance of a magical realism DCEU. Similarly, this will allow any future films which involve team-ups to have Aquaman or other Atlanteans sharing a special connection with teammates with magical backgrounds. Wonder Woman 1984 has opened the door for magic to be a mainstay in the DCEU, and Aquaman 2's story will walk taller for not having to duck to avoid mention of it.
Wonder Woman 1984 is finally in theaters, but is the film's run a failure so far? The sequel to Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins' successful 2017 film, has been highly anticipated for quite some time. From the film's very first trailer release in late 2019 to the announcement of Chris Pine's return as the deceased Steve Trevor, there was a lot of hype surrounding Wonder Woman 1984 as fans geared up to see what was next in store for Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince. 

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However, the film's road to theaters wasn't exactly what anyone would call smooth sailing. In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Wonder Woman 1984, like so many films, was pushed back from its initial release date in June 2020, delayed to August and then October before Warner Bros. settled on a December 25 theatrical release. But, with the pandemic still a threat to health and safety, the executives at AT&T and WarnerMedia decided on a different approach. Wonder Woman 1984 would be released on HBO Max and in theaters on the very same day, setting the stage for a very unique kind of viewing experience for fans and a new and shocking trajectory for the film industry.
However, the streaming release didn't prevent Wonder Woman 1984 from making money at the box office. Here is the breakdown of the film's box office run, whether it was a success or a failure, how it affected HBO Max's subscriber numbers, and what it means for the streamer moving forward. 
Wonder Woman 1984 cost Warner Bros. over $200 million to produce. The film’s theatrical release put it in an odd situation, though it can be argued that nothing has been very normal with regards to theater openings due to the global pandemic. At the domestic box office, Wonder Woman 1984 has grossed $37.7 million since its release on December 25, 2020. That number is much higher internationally, with a current intake of $110.7 million, bringing its global numbers to $148.4 million overall. Given that the film was released a bit earlier in international markets, Wonder Woman 1984 had a bit of a head start and not a lot of competition considering the fact that most every movie release has been delayed. 

In the UK, the film has grossed an estimated total of $1.15 million since its opening on December 18. The film’s release in European countries — including Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro — has earned it a whopping total of $5.9 million so far. Throughout Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Wonder Wonder 1984 has tallied approximately $6.39 million since December 17. In Latin America, the film opened in just three countries (Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico), but grossed more than it did in Europe, earning around $10.5 million thus far. However, the sequel made the most in Australia and China, earning a total gross of $17.6 million and $25 million, respectively. 
By typical industry standards, the box office numbers for Wonder Woman 1984 aren’t very spectacular or even exceptional. In a normal year, the numbers would be considered abysmal. However, the pandemic obviously thwarted what would have otherwise been a regular run for the sequel film, but theater closures and stay-at-home orders prevented that from happening. In short, it was (and still is) relatively unsafe to be in theaters. Plus, there are only about 35% of theaters open and operating in some capacity, and so the pandemic has greatly affected Wonder Woman 1984’s box office numbers. With all that in mind, the superhero sequel was never going to make what 2017’s Wonder Woman made in its first weekend of release, having grossed over $100 million back then.