Aquaman stars dive into Manila as hype for premiere floods fans

December 11, 2018 - 3:11 PM
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(Screenshot from trailer of DC Films' Aquaman)

“Aquaman” star Jason Momoa arrived in Manila on Tuesday ahead of the Philippine premiere of the much-awaited DC Films flick.

Momoa, who plays the titular Aquaman and actress Amber Heard, who plays Mera were both spotted in Manila early on Tuesday.

Director James Wan is expected to join the two leads as part of the Philippine premiere of the DC Cinematic Universe’s last movie for 2018.

Manila is the only Southeast Asian city in the eight-city global tour for the movie’s worldwide premiere in December 2018.

The warm reception from fans shows how DC Comics’ once-ridiculed King of the Seven Seas has come far from being the weak-link in the Justice League.

A hit in Asia

“Aquaman” dives into the story of Arthur Curry, the child of a land-dweller and a princess of the undersea kingdom Atlantis. The character was first teased in 2016’s “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” and formally introduced in 2017’s “Justice League.”

The film was a smash hit in China, where it premiered two weeks ahead of the United States. It has earned close to $108 million in its first four days in the Asian country considered to be one of the biggest entertainment markets in the world.

Its $94 million opening day haul beat the critically acclaimed DC flick “Wonder Woman” and just fell short of matching the $95 million opening day haul recorded by “Batman v Superman” when it premiered in 2016.

The film has received positive reviews from critics after early screenings, dispelling fears that the film would be a critical flop after “Batman v Superman” and “Justice League” received lukewarm reviews from movie critics and fans.

December 2018’s “Aquaman” will be followed up by “Shazam” in April 2019, the same month top competitor Marvel is expected to premiere its much-awaited opus “Avengers: Endgame.”

2020 is expected to be the year DC’s cinematic universe goes on full force with a number of familiar superheroes and super-teams in the DC roster getting their own movies.

“Birds of Prey,” “Cyborg,” “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Green Lantern Corps,” “The Flash” and “The Batman” are among the DC movies set to hit the big screen in 2020.