Just a thought ...
After the flop that was Justice League, this Aquaman movie already had the pressure of having the future of DC's cinema 'expanded' universe in its hand, being the next one to hit. But with Black Panther blowing the hell up and Infinity War being, IMHO, the best comic movie yet (even if it is only part one and I have yet to see Black Panther), Aquaman now has THAT to compete with. Marvel reviews. And I use the word compete because even though Marvel and DC are totally different and should be able to stand as their own entity, they will ALWAYS be compared to each other, especially in this movie world. I don't think of it as DC vs Marvel, but many do. Right or wrong, they do. I guess I am too ... for this bit at the very least
Another thing to think about is how well, or the opposite of that actually, "water movies" seem to do in the box office or at least to fans. I think the most successful, for me, would be The Abyss, but my brain can't think of too many more right now but my memory says ... or maybe it is just me ... but It just seems that most under water movies don't rise to the level of their above sea counterparts, unless there is a shark involved. I do so hope that changes with Aquaman, as much as I hope THIS Aquaman is not a DAMN SURFER WANNA BE
but man, back to the point, Aquaman has a ton of pressure on it. Not just water pressure.
DC still have Shazam coming, but ... is he going to be shown to be in the DC movie universe proper? I don't know. Maybe, so if he is they still have that in the chamber, though I would have to think that his sales will be hurt by movie goers if yet another DC movie goes bad with Aquaman. I and everyone here I am sure are going to see both, maybe not in the theaters on opening day of course *cough, cough*, but "we" are not everyone.
And yes, they always have Wonder Woman and they may just have to start over using her as the focal point IE: Iron Man if this one does poorly. Think about that. You have Batman, one of the most popular characters in the world and you may have to start over with a different character. A character deserving of it, don't get me wrong. She is one of the trilogy lest we forget, but come on ... she is no Batman. And maybe that is a good thing.
Pressure.
Yep.
EDIT - And I just remembered WHEN Aquaman is hitting theaters. Is this just another example of why DC struggles? Opening a movie based on an ocean hero in freaking December? Really? Just think of all the little kids on the coasts wanting to go out and pretend to be the hero Aquaman in the snow. Right now, kids can run outside and pretend to be Dr. Strange (because most kids are like me, yeah?
) but with Aquaman, wouldn't have been better to play the movie in the summer? When kids can actually go to the beach and play like they are the king himself?
Yes, that is a miniscule aspect to think about, but yeah, it is the small stuff that add up.