Wonderous win
Biggest blockbuster directed by a woman tops box office
LOS ANGELES — Wonder Woman conquered milestones and movie myths at North American theaters, where the Patty Jenkins-directed superhero film powered its way to a $100.5 million debut this weekend and became the biggest blockbuster ever directed by a woman.
The well-reviewed movie easily surpassed industry expectations with one of the summer’s biggest debuts, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Starring Gal Gadot as the Amazonian warrior princess, Wonder Woman is the rare and most successful femaleled film in an overwhelmingly male superhero landscape.
Overseas, Wonder Woman also won the weekend with $122.5 million from 55 markets for a global total of $223 million.
“It shows that superhero movies aren’t just about men. They’re about women as well,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “All the noise about Patty Jenkins breaking the glass ceiling for directors, I think that added to it as well.”
Jenkins, who previously directed 2003’s Monster starring Charlize Theron, now holds the record for biggest domestic opening for a female director. The previous mark was Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Fifty Shades of Grey, with $85.1 million in 2015.
“The movie helps to get a lackluster summer so far heading in the right direction. A perfectly cast Gal Gadot in the lead role coupled with a great release date, killer marketing campaign and above all a great movie that has both critics and audiences buzzing on social media, contributed to this better than expected result,” said movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian at comScore
ComScore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak shows that audiences gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and the audience split was 52 percent female and 48 percent male.
Fox’s PG animated superhero movie Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie was a distant second place, bringing in an estimated $23.5 million in its opening weekend. The animated familyfriendly action adventure based on the children’s novel series Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey.
Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales moved to the third place with an estimated $21.6 million for a global total of $501.2 million.