While the bar for a successful theatrical release isn’t high in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wonder Woman 1984 has cleared it, reporting a box office of $16.7 million over its three-day Christmas opening weekend according to a press release. This figure is the best any movie has reported since the pandemic began, beating out Tenet and The Croods: A New Age‘s COVID-affected openings.
While the numbers would be disappointing in a normal year, Wonder Woman 1984 has done better than expected given the circumstances. It currently boasts a total box office of $85 million, with $68.3 million of that coming from outside the USA. And because of this, Wonder Woman 3 is being fast-tracked.
“As fans around the world continue to embrace Diana Prince, driving the strong opening weekend performance of Wonder Woman 1984, we are excited to be able continue her story with our real life Wonder Women–Gal and Patty–who will return to conclude the long-planned theatrical trilogy,” said Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
Wonder Woman 1984 was the first of Warner Bros’ movies to release simultaneous in theatres and on HBO Max, as the company will do with all its film releases in 2021. Warner Media revealed that over half of HBO Max’s subscribers viewed Wonder Woman 1984 on the day it dropped, though the company hasn’t said if the release led to increased numbers of new subscribers to the platform. Not all Americans have had the chance to see Wonder Woman in theaters, with over half of the country’s theaters still closed due to the pandemic.
Wonder Woman 1984 has received a mixed bag of positive and negative reviews (GameSpot’s was one of the former, with a score of 9/10), resulting in an ambivalent score of 59 on Metacritic. Gal Gadot is attached for the next installment, with Patty Jenkins returning to write and direct. The next film may be a while off, however, with Jenkins already attached to an upcoming Star Wars Rogue Squadron movie with Disney.
