Safe to say, Warner Bros. has a very big, and very important hit on their hands. After three weeks in theaters,Wonder Womanhas already cemented itself as the best movie in the DC Extended Universe, and it could even manage to outgrossMan of Steelin the coming weeks. But as of today,Wonder Womanhas officially crossed the $600 million mark at the international box office, making it afinancial and critical successfor the studio. And the movie still has a long way to go.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter, that $600 million figure putsWonder Womaninches from a very significant milestone. Once the movie passes $609.8 million worldwide, which it will easily do this weekend, probably before Friday is over with, that will makeWonder Womanthe highest-grossing live-action movie ever directed by a female director. The previous record holder isMama Mia!, which was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and came out back in 2008. So it looks like Patty Jenkins' first movie sinceMonsteris a pretty big deal and should give her a whole lot of power in Hollywood moving forward.
As for howWonder Womanstacks up against therest of the DCEUfinancially, it is still the lowest-grossing of the four movies released so far, but that will almost certainly change by the end of its theatrical run.Man of Steel’s $668 million total is easily in reach, andSuicide Squad, which managed a very impressive $745 million last year, could be attainable as well. But that may be pushing it at this point.Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justicewill, in all likelihood, remain at thetop of the heapwith $873 million. But nobody would have ever expected a soloWonder Womanmovie would even get close to what a movie featuring Batman and Superman on the big screen together for the first time ever was able to bring in. And hey, let’s not forget that Gal Gadot was in that movie as well.
Wonder Womanis going to be financially successful no matter how you slice it at this point. Domestically, it is definitely going to beatMan of Steel, which topped out at $291 million.Wonder Womanalready has $289. But more importantly, the DCEU movies have been divisive at best. Critics truly hated bothBatman V Superman: Dawn of JusticeandSuicide Squad. WithWonder Woman, Warner Bros. managed to garner terrific reviews from both fans and critics alike. That was more than needed at this point. Not to mention how much good favor they earned by having a female direct the movie. Plus, this has proved that female directors can do these movies just as well, if not better, than male directors can. That is going to (hopefully) open a lot of doors for other directors.
It hasn’t been formally announced yet, butPatty Jenkinsis currently working on the story forWonder Woman 2with DCEU head Geoff Johns. Both Jenkins andGal Gadotshould be looking at a pretty big payday for that movie, since Jenkins only had a one-picture-deal and Gadot was paid $300,000 for her part. A pretty reasonable chunk of that $600 million will be lining their pockets, and they deserve it.
