Slight change of plans for the upcoming release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom starring Jason Momoa, and for once it’s not bad news. The movie is actually coming out five days earlier than its previous release date of Christmas Day.
The Hollywood Reporter shared the news that the movie is actually switching places with the remake of A Color Purple. That movie is widely considered to be Oscar bait and has some real heavyweights behind it, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
A previous version of The Color Purple, starring Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg, came out in 1985. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and lost them all. As for Aquaman, it was originally supposed to come out on Christmas Day, but COVID-19 related delays and the visual effects team needing more time pushed its release.
The film was rescheduled for March 17 of this year, but that didn’t really stand and the film was eventually pushed to December. Aquaman is one of the DCEU’s highest grossing films and a fan favorite, so the move is unlikely to affect box office numbers.
The new date means Aquaman 2 will compete with Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Illumination Studios’ Migration. The original grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, and it remains the highest-grossing film of any DC movie so far.
The sequel stars Momoa in the titular role as well as Amber Heard reprising her role from the original, although her scenes were reportedly cut down.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom splashes into theaters on Dec. 20.