‘Aquaman’ stays strong with $51.5 million in second weekend

“Aquaman” easily retained its reign in North America for the second weekend in a row, dominating box office charts with $51.5 million from 4.125 locations.

That marks a decline of just 24% from its opening weekend of $72 million and brings the DC superhero tent pole past $188 million in the states.

Since it’s a busy time of year for movie going, “Aquaman” will likely cross $200 million by New Year’s and could become Warner Bros.’ biggest film of 2018.

Overseas, the movie, directed by James Wan and starring Jason Momoa, has surpassed $560 million.

There was enough holiday cheer at multiplexes to spread the wealth. Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” held the number 2 spot with $28 million, a solid uptick of 28% to take ticket sales just shy of $100 million. Globally, the musical has amassed $173 million.

Paramount’s “Bumblebee” landed in third place again, picking up $21 million from 3,550 venues, a small 3 percent drop. The “Transformers” origin story with Hailee Steinfeld has made $67 million through Sunday.