'Aquaman' Helps Drive Warner Bros. To Its Biggest Box Office Year Ever

Warner Bros. had a record-setting year at the box office in 2018, and Aquaman was the film that helped it cross the finish line.

Aquaman has already amassed over $222 million domestically and over $846 million worldwide, driving Warner Bros. to a quite profitable year, but it wasn't the only movie that powered that result. Films like A Star Is Born ($389 million worldwide) Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald ($629 million), and The Meg ($530 million) all contributed to Warner Bros biggest year to date at the worldwide box office, bringing in $5.6 billion (via Variety).

The cause was helped in a big way by performances overseas. Movies like Ready Player One ($137 million) and Rampage ($101 million) didn't take in as much stateside, but overseas they played extremely well, bringing in $582 million and $428 million respectively in international theaters.

"Non-traditional films really worked in those regions, and that was very interesting," said Tom Molter, Warner Bros.' head of international distribution. "That means audiences are very receptive to go to the movies and see good stories. That's very encouraging."

While Warner Bros. had a slew of hits this year, Aquaman is the shining star, and in just two weeks is already almost at a billion dollars. Kevin Smith recently shared his thoughts on the film and remembered a time when no one would've guessed that the character could ever do that in cinemas.

"Can you believe, this movie is at about $750 million right now," Smith said. "Aquaman's going to make a billion dollars. Go back in time and tell somebody that. That Aquaman's going to make a billion dollars. Makes sense now, because my God, it's visually sumptuous. Aquaman is everything a movie is supposed to be. When you put down your two bits or 10 bucks or 20 depending on where you go, you want to escape. Take me somewhere. Show me some s*** I've never seen before. That's what you want in a movie. I never mad movies like that, I was like I'm going to show you a convenience store, something you saw probably right before you went to the cinema."

Now everyone knows just how cool Aquaman can be, and we don't see that changing anytime soon.

Aquaman is directed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa (Arthur/Aquaman), Amber Heard (Mera), Nicole Kidman (Queen Atlanna), Patrick Wilson (Orm/Ocean Master), Willem Dafoe (Nuidis Vulko), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Ludi Lin (Murk), Dolph Lundgren (King Nereus), Djimon Hounsou (The Fisherman King), Natalia Safran (Fisherman Queen), and Michael Beach (Jesse Kane).

Aquaman is in theaters now.