'Aquaman' Granted Rare Extended Release in China

The DC Extended Universe is having such a successful moment with Aquaman, you shouldn’t expect [...]

The DC Extended Universe is having such a successful moment with Aquaman, you shouldn't expect to see the film swimming away from theaters any time soon, and that includes the movie's stay in China.

Aquaman, which was released in China on December 7, 2018, has just been given a rare extension in the country's box office.

According to Variety, the film will now be playing in China until February 6th, 2019, which happens to be the second day of the Chinese New Year.

"Foreign revenue-sharing films in China are typically given a 30-day release window by industry regulators," Variety explains. "Only some receive an extra 30-day extension and usually only when the film is performing strongly."

While an extended release in China is rare, Aquaman is not only the superhero flick of late to be given this honor. Recently, the courtesy was also extended to Venom, which managed to score the second-largest opening weekend for a superhero film in the country's history.

Variety reports that Aquaman is still raking in $2.5 million a day in China, already earning $246 million since the film's release in the country. That means more than 40% of the money made by Aquaman came from its China earnings alone.

The big question is whether or not the movie can top Venom, which has already brought in $271 million from China.

The continued success of Aquaman makes it the top earner from this year's holiday box office. In fact, it had one of the best Christmas Day numbers ever. The James Wan-directed film made $22 million, which has only been beaten by Avatar ($23 million), Sherlock Holmes ($24.6 million), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ($25.8 million), Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($27.4 million), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($49 million).

The movie is doing so well that Forbes predicts it could pass the $1 billion mark. At the very least, they expect it "could close in on $700 million by the end of next weekend." Even if it doesn't hit the billion dollar milestone, there's no doubt the movie will at least become the third-highest grossing DC film after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Wonder Woman.

Aquaman stars Jason Momoa (Aquaman/Arthur Curry), Amber Heard (Mera), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Black Mantra), Nicole Kidman (Atlanna), Dolph Lundgren (King Nereus), Willem Dafoe (Vulko), and Patrick Wilson (Orm). The film was directed by James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring, Furious 7) and follows Aquaman/Arthur Curry as he fights to unite the surface world with his underwater kingdom of Atlantis.

Aquaman is currently playing in theaters everywhere.

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