'From Baywatch to billion-dollar movie': Jason Momoa celebrates Aquaman record

Jason Momoa is taking a victory (swimming) lap in the wake of Aquaman crossing the billion-dollar mark at the box office.

The actor took to Instagram following reports that his superhero movie just became the DC Extended Universe’s first title to cross $1 billion globally.

“BILLION DOLLAR UNDERDOG,” he wrote. “From Baywatch to making what once was the most disrespected superhero into a billion dollar movie. no one gets to the top without the people that love them. My success is from my fans. All my aloha to everyone that had a hand in making this movie. Mahalo Zack [Synder] for choosing me and mahalo James [Wan] for creating this beautiful world. #grateful#lovemyfans #billiondollarunderdog#borntoclimb #outofholes #aquaman2#cheeeehuuuuuu #hhrajahh. Aloha j”

And for those wondering about his Baywatch comment, the actor launched his career playing Jason Ioane in the series, appearing in roughly 30 episodes, back when he looked like this:

The post followed director James Wan making this comment on Twitter about the news: “THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported this underdog. For making this non-mainstream character (and yes — with leading POC individuals in front and behind the camera!) connect on such a huge global scale. In the words of Aquaman himself, “MAHALO”

Aquaman crossed box office milestone on Saturday. This marks the first time a DC Comics title has made a billion since Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises ($1.08 billion in 2012). It also edges out long-time DC fan-favorite The Dark Knight (which made $1.004 billion in 2008 — though Aquaman has a decade of rising ticket prices tipping its side of the scale).

In 2018, four other movies hit the billion mark (Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Incredibles 2).

Aquaman has been helped enormously by its box office performance in China, where it’s racked up about $300 million. In fact, $732 million of Aquaman’s haul has been from overseas making it the second-biggest international title in Warner Bros.’ history.

Domestically, Aquaman has been far more modest, grossing $287 million — where it still ranks below Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, and Suicide Squad.

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