“Wonder Woman” is on track to become the highest opening film directed by a woman in Hollywood history.
Directed by Patty Jenkins, the superheroine hit grossed $35.6 million from 4,156 screens on Saturday, and is now set to join “Beauty and the Beast” and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” as the third 2017 film with a $100 million-plus opening.
The strong start means the Warner Bros./DC movie has blown away the previous record by a female director, which was set by Sam Taylor-Johnson for “Fifty Shades of Grey’s” $85.6 million opening.
With an estimated weekend total of $100.5 million, “Wonder Woman” will have the second-highest June opening for a WB film behind only “Man of Steel” with $128 million.
It also tops many Marvel titles too, including the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Doctor Strange,” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” If Sunday totals can push the weekend cume up to $102 million, it will match the opening set by the first “Iron Man.”
[powergridprofile powerrank=”5042″ node=”267129″ type=”person” path=”http://powergrid.thewrap.com/person/patty-jenkins” title=”Patty Jenkins” image=”patty_jenkins_0.jpg”]
Overseas, “Wonder Woman” has made an estimated $122.5 million, including $38 million from China and No. 1 spots in all 10 Asian markets. On IMAX, it has made $18.3 million worldwide, with $9 million from 343 domestic screens, making it the third highest IMAX opening for a DC film behind “The Dark Knight Rises” and ahead of “Suicide Squad.”
This was also a big film for 3D sales, as 43 percent of its estimated $223 million global opening came from 3D screenings. That’s a total of $95 million, with $36 million coming from RealD screenings. France is set to be lassoed by the film on Wednesday and Germany on June 15.
“Wonder Woman” has been praised by critics and audiences alike as a course correction for the DC Extended Universe, which saw its 2016 entries, “Batman v Superman” and “Suicide Squad,” face poor reviews and lukewarm audience reception. The film boasts a 94 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and an A from audience polls on CinemaScore, the latter of which makes “Wonder Woman” the fifth WB/DC film to hit that mark and the first since “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012.
Coming in second is DreamWorks Animation/Fox’s “Captain Underpants,” posting an estimated opening of $23.5 million against a reported budget in the mid $30 million range. Based on Dav Pikey’s graphic novels and co-produced by Canadian studio Mikros Image, this is DWA’s final Fox-distributed title following the purchase of the studio by Universal, under whom it will release “How to Train Your Dragon 3” in 2019. This film sports an 86 percent RT rating and a B+ on CinemaScore.
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” takes $22 million in its second weekend, a franchise-high 65 percent drop from its $62 million three-day opening last week. Worldwide, the film has passed the $500 million mark, as it made $73.8 million this weekend overseas. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” takes fourth with $9.7 million, and “Baywatch” rounds out the top five with $8.6 million.