As a franchise, the DCEU has never been a critical darling. The series’ first entry, “Man of Steel,” famously received a lukewarm response from critics when it was released in 2013, still holding only a 56% Tomatometer score. In the following years, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (29%), ‘Suicide Squad” (26%), “Justice League” (39%), “Wonder Woman 1984” (58%), “Black Adam” (38%), and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” (49%) all went on to earn similarly rotten Tomatometer scores.
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” isn’t, in other words, the first DCEU film that has been received poorly by critics. The fact that the film has been sold as the final DCEU entry does make its 38% Tomatometer score a bit more noteworthy, as does the reception that its predecessor received five years ago. 2018’s “Aquaman” not only raked in over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, but it also received mostly positive reviews when it was released. It currently holds a 66% Tomatometer score, which isn’t high but is considerably better than its sequel.
It remains to be seen whether or not “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” will be able to financially overcome its disappointing critical reception. Early projections have suggested that the “Aquaman” sequel’s box office opening is shaping up to be another superhero disaster this year. That’s disappointing for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” will likely be the last DCEU adventure that fans ever see.
