'Aquaman' sequel sinks with weak $40 million opening

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom debuted at #1 over the four-day holiday weekend. However, its $40 million opening wasn't superheroic.

Its 2018 original, also starring Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis, opened with $67 million on its way to more than $1.1 billion. But the sequel, which cost more than $200 million to make, won't come close to that high water mark, most prognosticators agree. It's Warner Bros. Discovery's fourth under-performing superhero movie of the year, following The Flash, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Blue Beetle.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom makrs the studio's last superhero flick before the much-anticipated James Gunn/Peter Safran reboot of the studios' comic properties.

However, Warner Bros. had sweeter news from Wonka, which came in second for the weekend with $28 million. The prequel, starring Timothée Chalamet as the magical chocolate maker, has made nearly $255 million to date.

The animated film Migration took third place with $17.5 million, while Sony's romantic comedy Anyone but You debuted in fourth place, collecting $8 million. The Indian action film Salaar Part 1 managed to snag fifth place, with $6.9 million over the four-day span, according to Deadline.