June 4, 2017 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
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The DC Extended Universe shined bright at the box office this weekend, as Wonder Woman knocked down all other contenders to take the #1 spot. The first solo film for the DC heroine blasted off with $100.5 million, setting several records along the way. The film is the best opening for a female-directed film (beating Fifty Shades of Grey’s $85.1 million start) and the best for a film set during World War I. In fact, it’s already the best total-grossing World War I film (an admittedly light genre), with Steven Spielberg’s War Horse the previous champion at $79.9 million. It’s also the fourth-highest start for a solo superhero’s origin film, behind onlyDeadpool ($132.4 million), Man of Steel ($116.6 million), and the first Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man ($114.8 million).
There’s no bad news here for this one. Three weeks ago, Wonder Womanwas tracking for a $65 million to $70 million opening, although even then many thought the film would open higher. There was a lot of uncertainty however due to concern over whether the divisive reactions to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad would result in less people turning out for Diana’s solo bow. By last week anticipation and predictions had risen, especially after stellar reviews began rolling in on Monday (the current Rotten Tomatoes score is 93%). But even then, most predictions were looking at an $80 million to $85 million start with only a few suggesting the movie would get close to $100 million. Those few proved to be accurate as Warner Bros.’ final marketing push shoved the movie over the top. Audience anticipation was high and the film was more evenly-split in demographics than your standard superhero film, with a 52% female lean among the attendees. Those who saw it generally loved it, with an A CinemaScore (compared to Batman V Superman’s B,Suicide Squad’s B+ and Man of Steel’s A-).