Amid tremendous anticipation, Wonder Woman’s first weekend at the box office went over about as well as it possibly could have. So far, it’s reportedly hauled in a whopping $100 million in U.S. ticket sales alone, and another $122 million internationally, making it the most successful and biggest-ever film release with a woman in the director’s chair.
Patty Jenkins is at the helm of the film, and it’s the first Warner Bros. superhero movie to explicitly have a woman, Gal Gadot as the eponymous Wonder Woman, in its starring role.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film also saw massive success at drawing women out to the theater, comprising a full 52 percent of its viewers, as compared to the average, where men make up 60 percent of ticket buyers for superhero movies. In other words, it’s been a big win for women’s representation in the director’s chair, on the marquee, and in the movie theater.
#WonderWoman officially conquers the domestic box office with a heroic $100 million opening https://t.co/3ULbYjz6rX pic.twitter.com/SeVwhyN7Fh
— Variety (@Variety) June 4, 2017
This won’t come as any shock to advocates for increased representation of women in Hollywood, especially in traditionally male-centric genres like comic book and superhero films. Such advocates have argued for years that a well-written, well-acted superhero movie geared toward women could find mainstream and even mega-hit success, despite reluctance on the part of major Hollywood studios to depart from the typically male-centric approach that has historically been upheld in the genre.
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It looks like Wonder Woman is going to shatter some of those longstanding stereotypes. The film cost nearly $150 million to produce, and it’s already earned back more than that (when you include international box office figures). It’s on pace to massively out earn its budget, a big win for Warner Bros. and for everyone involved with the project.