The DCEU franchise ended with releasing the long-awaited "Aquaman" sequel, but in established DC fashion, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" opened abysmally.

While the first "Aquaman" offered something new and was an overall crowd-pleaser, "The Lost Kingdom" feels disjointed, awkward, and lacks momentum.

Looper critic Alistair Ryder writes, "This generic but largely functional tale suffers due to everybody onscreen clearly assuming this is the end of the road…".

Critics feel the film is simply going through the motions, offering nothing new or engaging. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film boasts a meager 36% with critics.

Before its release, "The Lost Kingdom" was mired in controversy, and a negative narrative manifested around the picture, which no doubt seeped into fans' minds.

The film was riddled with bad press, from the drama surrounding Amber Heard and Johnny Depp to reports that Jason Momoa allegedly appeared drunk on set.

Coupled with the confirmation that "The Lost Kingdom" was going to be the last flick in the DCEU, it felt useless for audiences to show up for what was an abrupt end.

From not receiving a red carpet premiere to Momoa telling Entertainment Tonight that Aquaman's future is "not looking too good," "The Lost Kingdom" was dead on arrival.