Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom just hit a new DCEU low as it received the franchise's worst audience score ever.
Aquaman 2's momentum was derailed by negative publicity caused by the controversies surrounding one of its stars, Amber Heard. This is on top of the confirmation that it is the final DCEU movie, thus marking the end of an era.
Aquaman 2's Disappointing Audience Score Makes DCEU History
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom earned a "B" audience score rating from CinemaScore, which is the worst audience score a DCEU movie has ever received.
Aquaman 2 joins two other DCEU movies that received a similar audience score from CinemaScore, and those are 2023's The Flash and 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
A movie's CinemaScore rating ranges from A+ to F. During opening weekend, the company surveys moviegoers at different theatres across North America and Canada. It is then calculated based on the average grade scale given by audiences upon exiting theaters.
The full list of CinemaScore ratings from the DCEU can be seen below in order from the best scores to the worst scores:
- Man of Steel: A-
- Batman V Superman: B
- Suicide Squad: B+
- Wonder Woman: A
- Justice League: B+
- Aquaman: A-
- Shazam!: A
- Birds of Prey: B+
- Wonder Woman 1984: B+
- The Suicide Squad: B+
- Black Adam: B+
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods: B+
- The Flash: B
- Blue Beetle: B+
Alongside The Flash, Aquaman 2's "B" score is similar to the MCU's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but it falls below the 2023 DC pair of Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Blue Beetle's "B+" rating.
Aquaman 2's Audience Score Marks a Discouraging DCEU Finish
Given that the consensus surrounding Aquaman 2 is mostly negative, the B CinemaScore isn't surprising, and it doesn't help the fact that it already has disappointing box office projections as well.
While the sequel has a respectable audience score from Rotten Tomatoes with a 77% rating, the CinemaScore rating has more weight since it is based on the initial reactions of moviegoers upon exiting the theaters.
Some common criticism from fans and critics include its weak script, lazy exposition, and the overall feel of the sequel being unimportant due to the impending arrival of James Gunn's DCU.
It remains to be seen if this CinemaScore will continue to affect the word of mouth for the sequel.
However, a slight push due to the holidays could bring in a good amount of audience for Aquaman 2, but this development would only help its box office total and not its overall reception.
Some have claimed that the DCEU is on the verge of ending on a whimper, considering Aquaman 2's possible minimal box office returns and disappointing reactions that might continue in the coming weeks.
It's quite unfortunate that the DCEU's end of an era might've been one of the key reasons why Aquaman 2 didn't perform well financially and critically.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now playing in theaters worldwide.
