A few weeks ago, a number of different box office tracking analysts were predicting quite contrasting figures for theWonder Woman opening weekendat the box office. Most were predicting a debut of anywhere between $65 million and $80 million, while other analysts predicted a $105 million opening weekend. Those early projections came in before the first press screenings though, and there has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the movie since then, which has in turn affected the box office tracking. A new report claims that this superhero adventure will pull in $95 million when it hits theaters nationwide this weekend.
The Hollywood Reporterreveals that Warner Bros. is being much more conservative in their own projections, suggesting a debut between $65 million and $70 million, which the site claims is due to the unpredictable nature of this movie’s tracking thus far. Thisfemale superhero adventurewill also open day-and-date in most international markets this weekend as well, including China, with projections claiming the movie could earn at least another $100 million internationally this weekend. If this projection is accurate, then it will mean thatWonder Womanwill break another box office record.
These current projections could mean thatWonder Womanwill break the record for the highest opening weekend for a female director, easily beating the $85.1 million debut of Sam Taylor-Johnson’sFifty Shades of Greyin 2015, and the $69.6 million opening of its predecessor, Catherine Hardwicke’sTwilightin 2008. While this debut would certainly be important in terms of box office history, it may even be more important in our current box office climate, following the worst Memorial Day box office since 1999. This $95 million projection falls in line with our ownWonder Woman predictionof $94.6 million, but we won’t know until Sunday morning ifWonder Womanmeets, exceeds or falls short of these projections.
Before it even opens in theaters, though,Wonder Womanhas succeeded whereBatman v Superman: Dawn of JusticeandSuicide Squadbefore it had failed, in winning over the critics. While critics bashedBatman v Superman(28% on Rotten Tomatoes) andSuicide Squad(25% on Rotten Tomatoes),Wonder Womanhas become theDCEU’s first Certified Freshmovie on Rotten Tomatoes, currently holding an impressive 92% score on RT. Even ifWonder Womanmeets or exceeds these box office projections, it likely won’t have a bigger debut thanBatman v Superman($166.1 million) orSuicide Squad($133.6 million), but with all of this critical acclaim, it could very well have more longevity than its predecessors, each of which suffered big second weekend drops.
While most superhero movies tend to skew as more male-friendly movies, tracking suggests that both males and females are equally interested in thisWonder Woman movie, which could also have a positive impact on its opening weekend numbers.Wonder Womanstars Gal Gadot as Diana of Themyscira, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, Robin Wright as General Antiope, Danny Huston as Ludendorff, David Thewlis as Sir Patrick, Lucy Davis as Etta Candy, Ewen Bremner as Charlie, Elena Anaya as Dr. Maru and Said Taghmaoui as Sameer. Patty Jenkins directs from a script by Allan Heinberg, based on a story he created alongside Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs. Be sure to check back on Sunday to see howWonder Womanfares at the box office this weekend.
