Wonder Woman channeled its overwhelming positive reviews into a monstrous opening weekend.
The latest entry into the DC Extended Universe, Wonder Woman nabbed a $100.5 million tally domestically and $122.5 million globally for a grand total of $223 million.
Wonder Woman’s first solo outing topped the likes of Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy and the first two Captain America and Thor movies domestically. It also nabbed many notable records, including the biggest opening for a female director (Patty Jenkins) and the biggest superhero movie opening led by female protagonist.
The fact that Wonder Woman succeeded wasn’t a surprise. The big surprise came with its critical response. DCEU movies have been plagued by putrid reviews dating back to Man of Steel in 2013. Wonder Woman is the first DCEU movie to earn overwhelming positive reviews that ended up heavily boosting its box office numbers. Early numbers pegged the movie to open somewhere between $85 and $90 million domestically, but after fantastic word-of-mouth, that number ended up being much higher.
Interestingly enough, Wonder Woman is the smallest opening for a DCEU movie. Man of Steel ($116 million), Batman v. Superman ($166 million) and Suicide Squad ($133 million) all had bigger numbers at the domestic box office. But with Wonder Woman being the first critical success for the DCEU and still putting up impressive numbers, it somehow feels like the biggest hit the DCEU has had simply for the positive vibe it has created. This is something DCEU fans have been waiting for a long time.
We’ll see if the DCEU can keep the momentum rolling with Justice League due out in November.