A month ago, box office analysts were being cautiously optimistic about Wonder Woman’s box office. They were saying WW would be a hit, but they thought maybe the North American box office opening would be about $65-70 million. When the review embargo was lifted and Rotten Tomatoes’ fresh rating came in, all of a sudden Warner Bros realized that they actually had made a good movie that people actually wanted to see. So the analysis was that WW would make about $90 million. Well, good news. Wonder Woman broke the $100 million mark domestically, and she’s raking it in worldwide too.
In a defining moment for Hollywood’s gender problem, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman grossed a winning $100.5 million in its domestic box office debut, the biggest opening of all time for a female director. Hollywood studios are notoriously loath to hire female directors, not to mention for a big-budget tentpole featuring a marquee superhero. Wonder Woman’s performance could put even more pressure on film companies to make women filmmakers more job offers.
The $150 milllion Warner Bros. movie, starring Gal Gadot, also launches the first film franchise featuring a female superhero after both Catwoman and Elecktra flopped in the mid-2000’s. Wonder Woman skewed female (52 percent), almost unheard for a superhero tentpole, which usually draws an audience that is 60 percent male. Wonder Woman becomes the 16th superhero film to cross $100 million in its domestic box-office launch, a list that is topped by the likes of Marvel’s The Avengers ($207 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191.3 million), Captain America: Civil War ($179.1 million), Iron Man 3 ($174 million) and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice ($166 million).
This is what many of us have been saying all along: there’s a real hunger for female-led action/fantasy/comic-book adaptations. There’s a real hunger for films that appeal to young girls AND their moms… around the whole world. And there’s a real hunger for studios – COUGH MARVEL COUGH – to step away from their sausage-party vibes. There is absolutely no reason why Marvel couldn’t have carved out some space for a stand-alone Black Widow movie. This proves that there would have been an audience for that story. Then again, I’m really glad that it was Wonder Woman who broke through – she’s way more iconic than Black Widow.
As for the talk of a sequel – of course there will be a sequel. Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot are already under contract for at least one sequel, although WB hasn’t technically greenlighted it yet (but they will). Jenkins and Gadot recently said that the sequel would likely be set in modern times, and that they would skip out on doing another historical setting. Like, Wonder Woman isn’t going to solve the Cuban Missile Crisis. Or hang out with Don Draper.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I saw it on Friday and loved it!
Same here. She was good and so it was Chris Pine.
I saw it this weekend too and also loved it! I walked out thinking this is definitely a new favorite. Gal was *amazing*, Pine was great, and everything about this movie was spectacular. The big “no man’s land” action sequence is among the best superhero fight scenes I’ve ever seen. Bravo, bravo, bravA!
Ummmm I cried during that part. I hid it from my husband and my sons but I definitely had tears rolling down my cheeks. It was such an awesome scene, so “girl-powery” and having grown up on WW in the 70’s…I was overwhelmed LOL
+1 on crying during the assault at the front. And again at the end. I loved this film so, so much.
I cried too. As a Marvel and DC Comics fangirl since I was a child, WW was always my favorite female heroine (Superman is my favorite male hero). Patty Jenkins did an outstanding job with the WW mythology and this movie had heart (and great action scenes). I took my 11 year old goddaughter and she loved it. I can’t wait to see it again. Hopefully Marvel will follow up with a Black Widow movie and the ladies can continue to break the glass ceiling in comic book world.
I liked the movie. I had a few issues with it but overall I left satisfied that this was the first standalone female superhero project.
Hoping that Captain Marvel tops this because I’m definitely over the only dude superhero solo movies.
Same! I had some issues but it was surely on par with all of the good superhero origin story movies. I wouldn’t give it a spectacular/amazing/best ever review, but it was certainly great.
Same HH. I was just talking to a coworker about the things we didn’t love (some of the pacing, some of the minority representation, and the romance) . But in terms of first solo outings it beats Superman and Thor for me.
If they could make the pacing better it would fix a LOT of DCEU issues
I am taking my daughter tomorrow, happy to have a superhero movie with a strong female AND Chris Pine is sexy 🙂
The revised weekend total is $103.1M. Woo hoo!
I saw it yesterday! My husband and I both enjoyed it very much, it was so refreshing to see women warriors kicking butt!! Definitely an “origins” story, and DC movies still struggle with the lack of humor, but this made me excited for justice league! Great job for Patty and Gal!!!
Saw it Saturday and cried the first 20 min. It was SO GOOD to see women warriors who looked like they could take on an army, not some typical HW waif-casting. And Gal Gadot was perfection in the role. I looked over at the woman next to me and tears were streaming down her face too. See it, everybody. It’s so damn good.
I cried too…..guess I’m not the only one!
So glad to hear I wasn’t the only one crying. The “no man’s land” scene was so overwhelming. I was sobbing but also wanted to get up and cheer. Loved it!
I cried too.
Recent events have made me feel this enormous desire to go battle on behalf of vulnerable people, and this movie was the embodiment of those feelings. I LOVED seeing the Amazons jumping off the cliffs without hesitation to protect their home. I loved seeing WW in No Man’s Land, determined to save all of the people.
Instead of a caring heart portrayed as a weakness, this film showed the feminine/maternal protective instinct as powerful and badass.
My 5 year old daughter saw it and loved it. She was so excited and even went dressed as Wonder Woman. The entire staff and the movie theater loved her and thought it was awesome. And when it was over she kept talking about it and all her favorite parts, which were when Wonder Woman was being a badass. I’m so glad it did even better than expectations.
Greeen bunny
My daughter is 5 and I thought about taking her but worried it might be too scary? Too violent? You didn’t think so? I haven’t seen it so I’m hoping you can fill me in on whether it’s appropriate thx
I hope you don’t mind if I jump in…
I think it depends on your daughter. 5 is quite young, and she definitely won’t understand a lot of the story but the fighting is so well choreographed it’s almost like watching a dance. You know your daughter and what you think she can handle. I saw a number of young girls at the screening I went to, and there was clapping and cheering at the end which made me so happy. As a 46 year old woman I was so excited to finally see such a wonderful bad ass female character on the screen, that I can only imagine what it’s like for young girls.
Oh, it is very long, so I’d bring snacks!
I took my 9 and 5 year olds – it wasn’t too violent, but they’ve been okay with movies like Pacific Rim, so it will depend on your particular kids. There are some scenes with wounded soldiers on screen – it’s not framed or filmed for shock value, but it is in there.
My 9 year old loved it, but 5 year old got very wiggly during some of the slower talky parts. It’s much more along the lines of Captain America: The First Avenger (almost beat for beat in a number of places) than Avengers or Iron Man.
Louisa and wilkycat
Thanks! That’s very helpful!
My 5 year old went, too. A little bored during the talk-y parts, but otherwise loved it!
I would NOT recommend this movie for a 5 year-old.
Saw it yesterday, it was fantastic! Loved Gadot, and Pine was adorable. Loved it. The no mans land was badass!!
I already saw it twice, I will probably see it again. Gal did a wonderful job and her acting was on point for all the naysayers who said she couldn’t act. She was so adorabble and charming in this film that I am crushing on her. Chris Pine was just spectacular; such a likeable handsome man on and off screen. The No Man”s land received cheers and claps at both showings I saw. That costume reveal was everything.
You said exactly how I feel about everything! The story, Gal and Chris. Their relationship was handled really well and didn’t come across as jarring or gratuitous. Going to watch it a third time too – it gets better every time I watch it!
I usually do not see the same movie twice in a theatre, but I may make an exception for Wonder Woman!
I have already seen it twice too! The No Man’s Land was amazing! I wanted to clap & jump up too but no one in the Theater did…so boo on that. I thought the whole last bit with Aries went on too long and got a little boring but my husband did not think so. He loved it and maybe in love with Gal Gadot. She was a great WW. I had doubts before I saw the movie but no. Good movie! Yea.
Hell friggin YEAH! I saw this opening night. Not only because its female driven but mostly because of the female director!!!! I am here to support females at the helm of movies. Great job WB. Great job. And can I say, so many woman worked on that film. I was watching the credits in aww. So many woman behind the scenes! And to boot the movie was fantastic! So well done! So good!!!
Women in Film is a great resource for films by women directors. I use it to seek out films both old and new, foreign and domestic, to watch. I’ve seen some great films, thanks to their lists.
http://womeninfilm.org/52-films/
Thanks for the link, SusanneToo.
I’m so happy WW is doing great! When I saw the last trailer, I was a bit worried because it looked messy. Will see it this weekend!
I took my boys and we LOVED it. It’s also very important for boys to see women at the helm of movies they love! My 11 year old announced after the movie that Wonder Woman is his favorite superhero.
Is it true that Patty Jenkins hasn’t directed a film since 2003?! I only see a few tv episodes on her imdb page.
I DO know that she WAS supposed to direct one of the Thor movies but had a conflict with Marvel so bowed out. Lucky for us!
Yes. it was THE DARK WORLD. I love Tom and Chris H. , and even I did not like the movie. She could only have improved it.
I saw it Saturday and it was better than I imagined not sure what I expected but really good and I wanted to shout out and clap but British people are too quiet so I sat there in silence but really enjoyed it. I am also pleased that it did very well, she is soooo pretty and they were good together.
I really don’t think Scarlett wanted to do a standalone Black Widow movie, not after The Avengers. I mean, from her perspective why would she? She’s the second highest paid Marvel star, and she doesn’t have to train like the Chris’s or spend a year or so making and promoting one film. She has the same freedom as Ruffalo and Renner but a much higher paycheque. It’s an ideal situation for an actor to be in. Blockbuster money without the blockbuster time commitments.
Scarlet did make it known that Black Widow should have a standalone multiple times but always said it in the only way one can when trying not to upset your bosses by being to vocal about sexism – never raising it herself and always doing it subtly and laughing. I feel for Scarlet. She does love action movies and I’m sure she would have liked to be the first.
the issue with Black Widow was reportedly money. scar Jo is a-list and therefore verrry expensive and they were already in that situation with RDJ. so they developed Captain Marvel instead.
Glad WW a hit but boy i nearly fell asleep during the last third of the movie. the whole villain plot was a boring mess
I don’t know, after the Avengers she just seemed pretty down on the idea compared to just about everyone else. I wouldn’t expect her to call out anyone at Marvel for not making it, but the last couple of years especially she signals pretty hard that she’s over it when it’s brought up. She’s in a safe enough position to at least keep the conversation going a little, but instead she’s started avoiding it.
There’s a big difference between making something like Lucy or even Ghost, and headlining a Marvel film. Marvel would take up an extra 6 months while paying not much more.
I doubt Scarjo is the reason why we don’t have a Black Widow standalone – she clearly doesn’t have issues with being the face of an action movie, given that after Avengers she went on to do Lucy and (however misguided that was) Ghost in the Shell.
If anything, I’d have thought she’d prefer to be the face of a franchise from a known hitmaking production house (Marvel) instead of chancing her rep on unknowns like Rupert Sanders.
I might be in the minority here but I’ve seen enough of the Marvel movies to decide that I think ScarJo is miscast as Black Widow. It might be the way her character is written but she doesn’t convey much emotion as Black Widow. She is definitely bad-ass, no doubt about it, but her facial expressions are pretty one note and all I see when I watch The Avengers/Marvel movies is Scarjo dressed up in a skin tight costume. I don’t believe she is Black Widow anymore than I believe Donald Trump is a great president. But overall I’ve never been a huge fan of ScarJo’s acting in the first place and I think she is over-rated.
I haven’t seen Wonder Woman yet and I doubt I’ll see it while it’s in theaters, I’m just not willing to pay for superhero movies at movie theaters anymore (also I work in digital comics and I’m not really into comics to begin with so I’m kind of over dealing with superheroes in general). I’ll catch it on TV someday or on a plane or something or maybe on Netflix. But I’m really happy that it’s doing so well at the box office and that it sounds like a fun movie to watch.
I actually totally agree with you on ScarJo and Black Widow. I only saw the first Avengers movie and I really didn’t like it. There’s just such a frat boy aura about the franchise and ScarJo and Renner are just so…dead inside. They depress the crap out of me in the Avengers. Renner creeps me out, but I think that he’s really good in a lot of films. He has a bit of a Keitel/Pesce vibe about him.
I’m not totally anti-Marvel though. I love Deadpool and thought that the last Wolverine movie was really good.
My husband and I plan to see it this week. Maybe tired old gender norms are changing. I was at our local park pool this weekend. Three little boys were chasing each other, each one yelling” I am Wonder Woman!”
Lol … I absolutely love the idea of little boys yelling, I am Wonder Woman. Can hardly wait to see this movie. We need more women everywhere.
That is awesome.
ftw!
Went with my husband and daughter and her boyfriend (both over 20) and we all loved it. It was smart, tough, poignant and totally badass.
Fantabulous!!! The only thing that would have made it better would have been to be in one of the all women, all the time, showings. All that Girl Power!
I’ve not seen any of the Batfleck era DC movies, so I can’t speak to the lack of humour, but my hubs and I agreed that had it been a Marvel movie, it would have had a cheeky Lynda Carter cameo. Perhaps as a shop assistant to hand Diana the last outfit with a “Is this what you’re looking for?”.
Did you see that they thanked Lynda Carter in the credits?
Yes! Loved it.
Lynda Carter was going to do a cameo but she wasn’t able to make it due to (I kid you not) her lounge singing commitments. If the woman is going to have an excuse, this might by my favorite.
That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.
I need a prequel about the Amazons and Themiscyra. Robin Wright’s Antiope stole the show: such a badass lady and what a range as an actress. I didn’t liked that they give to the Amazons too little scree time, too much Pine on the other hand. They were all good but the Amazons first act gave me goosebumps.
Oooh, an Amazons prequel would be amazing! That was by far my favorite part of WW.
I rather have WW return there in the sequel and they could deal with some other god (I don’t really like the idea they are all dead, could Hades as least be around?) and maybe some other villain like Cheetah. There could be more mythology more explained at the same time. But Patty Jenkins said the next film is set in US. It’s not like the entire film would need to be set in the island but but this does make me feel mythology isn’t really the focus of the film.
Robin was so fierce
The first act was the best part of the entire movie, hands down.
I loved the Amazons part. Robin Wright was fantastic. Her eyes are so good at reflecting a strong willed character.
Yasss!! (everyone in my group wanted more Themiscyra!)
I saw it. It was good but it didn’t knock my socks off. Most of these big budget action movies suffer from sacrificing a better plot in exchange for the CGI and explosions.
That said. Marvel is going ahead with a stand alone Dark Phoenix movie. That is my favorite X-Men character. I really hope they don’t eff it up like they’ve done in the past. But I’m iffy about Sophie Turner playing her. I like Sophie in general, but I dunno about her leading her own DP saga.
It could have knocked my socks off (that No Man’s Land scene was epic, and that is not hyperbole) but as you said, the last act/final fight devolved into CGI fireball mess and I was just a little underwhelmed. A great third act makes a huge difference to how I feel when I walk out (Rogue One had a shaky early act but then kept getting better and pulled it all together magnificently for its finale) so I’m a little sad that didn’t happen here.
Marvel has Captain Marvel in the works but quite frankly, they should have done it years ago – I can’t believe we are getting gd Ant-Man 2 before her! Kevin Feige has shepherded Marvel well for the most part, but on this front, he’s a disgrace.
In Feige’s defense, he really did want to make a Black Widow and Captain Marvel movie years ago, but got a lot of pushback from the studio itself and very conservative minded people within Disney and Marvel itself. You’d think that Disney, with its lock on princess heroines in live action would be all over the idea, but they’re not.
@briefstickershock – I’m not at all surprised it was the studio, now that you say it – I may have wronged Feige. Of course those old farts developed amnesia about the multiple hit action movies that had women first billed.
YAY!!! This is great news!
I saw it and mostly loved it – EXCEPT for the CGI-fireball-jammed mess that was the third act and the very underwhelming villain. The third act isn’t the place to be messing up your otherwise really good movie!
But I’m beyond thrilled that it broke the $100 million mark – it was a delight to see the box office projections keep rising and rising over the last month, and I really hope studios finally get it into their skulls that female directors CAN do everything their male counterparts can, if not better, that they can actually make a pile of money off female-led films (3 out of the 4 highest-opening films of the last 6 months have had women first billed – Rogue One, Beauty and the Beast, now this) and that maybe they should get with the times already.
Now for Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled on the 23rd of this month!
I’m not into the whole superhero movies, so I didn’t have high expectations, but I liked it way more than I expected. The first two acts were great, with my favorite part being the first battle when we first see her in her full Wonder Woman costume.
But, as others have pointed out, the last act was messy. However, it didn’t ruin the movie for me. Totally worth the price of admission and popcorn.
Like others I was underwhelmed by the third act and also disappointed that there were so few women in the movie once she entered our world. But I thought GG and CP were both excellent in their roles. I’m also thrilled that it did so well at the box office. I went with my husband, son (10) and daughter (8) and they all loved it. The kids especially thought it was the greatest thing ever.
I really want to take my older kids to see it, but my three year old would be heartbroken if we left her at home.
A three year old might be okay (despite lots of battles, no real gore/blood), but there is a long-ish talk-y section in the middle that dragged for my 5 and 9 year old kiddos. Would be hard for a child that young to sit through.
Here in Germany we will get the movie at the 15th.
I barely can’t wait anymore.
Loved what you all had written about the movie.
WW is always awesome.
You know, one Superheroine i also always loved is Jen , SHEHULK.
So cool, would love a movie of her, too.
I saw it on Saturday. And will more than likely watch it again this week. It was a beautifully done film. When WW went into no man’s land, just fantastic. Favorite scene of the film.
I saw it this past weekend and absolutely loved it! Wonder Woman is my new favorite superhero – she stands up for what is right, she has such a good heart and she’s a total badass. What a wonderful role model for young women and girls. I honestly wanted to cheer when she told Chris Pine’s character that what she does is not up to him.
I agree with others that the third act was just a bunch of CGI and the villain was underwhelming (though I feel that way about almost all superhero movies) but it was still a great film.
PS my friends and I seriously could not get over how beautiful Gal Gadot is!
Honestly dissapointed that a movie made for “all” women only had white women speaking more than two lines. Diversity is more than just featuring a token POC. I’m so over this bullsh*t.
There was two male characters that were poc and two women poc even if they did not have large role like you said big could show up in sequled and were the only Amazons to speak apart form Diana’s family if I recall right. Its bit nitpicky to have the film to be perfect.
Agreed – while I loved WW (despite the very trying and underwhelming third act) I was disappointed in the lack of WOC with significant speaking roles. Still it was ultimately a triumph for women (yay) but not really for WOC.
very, very true. I wasn’t shocked per say, by the lack of representation, but I was disappointed. It was a good movie nonetheless.
I haven’t been able to see it yet, but know many people who went. I am so glad it did very well at the box office, and has good reviews. It’s about time!
I saw the movie yesterday with my mother (she’s 73). She came out sobbing and said she’d waited for something like that her whole life. I might have gotten a little misty too.
I very much enjoyed it even tho’ i’m soooo tired of comic book hero movies.
much enjoyed!
Captain America himself even tweeted about it, cheering on the box office numbers. I can’t wait to see it!! Comes out in Switzerland this week!
I saw it. Enjoy some moments (particularly the island) and felt others were “meh.” Better than Batman vs. Superman, though. Good for the movie’s profits.
I saw Wonder Woman because I love the character. Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman was a great show. Plus when I was a kid my brother was a comic reader and I got hooked because of the fantastic art by George Perez. He did a lot of work for DC at the time and my brother was big on DC at the time. So this character has always been a big part of the DC universe.
I watch movies based on the topics. I think most people do too. I certainly don’t watch something just because a woman directed it. If it looks good and interests me I make an effort to watch it. The Hunger Games series made a lot of money because it was based on a very popular book among teen girls. Like Twilight. I had no interest in HG.
I doubt a Black Widow movie would do as well. Catwoman also is not a character that interest me. She’s a villain first off. I had never heard of Electra and really had no interest in seeing that.
I’m glad Wonder Woman did well. They tied in her origin quite well. Had many characters that are key to the WW universe. The story was great. The actors did a good job. I loved the scene of the Amazons training. Yes that first instant where she reveals herself to the world was incredible. I actually believed she was being attacked by that machinery.
I’m glad it did well though because it is a very female driven movie. I will watch it again. I took my niece. I want to go with my other nieces and nephews. It should be fun.
I saw it on Sat and I really love how it’s a story about an independent strong woman without any feminist agency shoving into the audience face.
I don’t think a Black Widow movie would have been that successful. The character isn’t all that appealing (can’t hold her own comic book for any length of time, let alone a movie) but Marvel can and probably will blow the doors off with Captain Marvel. Feige described her as the MCU’s superman and said this in an interview: “I think they see Carol as another rich, three-dimensional character to explore, who just happens to be able to fly and punch through moons and to lead intergalactic teams.”
Marvel is overdue for a female hero movie but I’m glad they didn’t do Black Widow because I don’t think it would have been a huge success (its not like Scar Jo is a sure thing. Her movies under perform all the time), but Brie Larson as Captain Marvel? I honestly think that will be Guardians level big and will blow Wonder Woman’s numbers out of the water.
I could also make a case for a stand alone She-Hulk movie. It wouldn’t be as big as Wonder Woman (at least I don’t think it would be) but I would certainly do better than the stand alone Hulk movies, the first two Thors, Iron Man 3 or Ant Man, and the character is really interesting, much more so than Black Widow.
I thought it was all kinds of awesome. I’m probably biased, as I’ve been waiting 40 years for this movie & had Wonder Woman underoos. Yeah, there were some plot holes but overall, very entertaining.
In my opinion, this is not a movie appropriate for littles. There’s some intense fighting, plus innuendo that they probably won’t pick up on, but it’s thereIt’s 2.5 hrs long. Expecting a lil kiddo to sit still/be quiet for that long is just not realistic.