It’s taken four films and five years but finally – finally! – Warner Bros. has engineered a critical darling in Wonder Woman, the Patty Jenkins-directed origin movie that is now teetering on the verge of its theatrical release.
Evoking comparisons to Batman Begins and even Superman: The Movie, Diana Prince’s first big-screen solo outing is well on its way to a commendable opening weekend at the box office, so it’s small wonder why WB has reportedly floated ideas for the all-but-confirmed sequel.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s focus on the matter at hand: Wonder Woman. Imbued with power, grace, wisdom, and a healthy dose of wonder, the Gal Gadot-fronted actioner is poised to debut in theaters with no post-credits scene to speak of – ditto for deleted scenes – and today brings forth some promising projections from Deadline in regards to the opening weekend.
Though it’s not set to do Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 type numbers, analysts currently peg Patty Jenkins’ feature for $175 million plus this weekend at the worldwide box office, with $65-$75 million of that coming in from domestic theatres. However, the outlet notes that should the positive reviews continue to roll in, that figure could reach as high as $90 million, which would be a respectable yet unspectacular number for home turf. Overseas, meanwhile, the “comfortable” prediction is about $100 million. Again though, if the strong buzz carries through the weekend, that number could go higher.
A $300 million gamble for Warner Bros. (factoring in production and marketing costs), there’s a LOT riding on Wonder Woman. Aside from the obvious financial concerns, the studio also needs a win for their DC Extended Universe after the poor reception that both Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad saw. Not to mention that female-led superhero movies aren’t exactly a safe bet in Hollywood. Thankfully, then, all the signs look positive so far and with the first wave of reviews painting the film as a strong effort on all counts, it doesn’t look like the studio has very much to worry about.
Tell us, will you be checking out Wonder Woman when it charges into theatres this weekend? Let us know in the usual place.