“Wonder Woman” breaks box office record with impressive debut

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Wonder Woman" reigns as a new Box Office hero. The DC Comics film adaptation starring Gal Gadot in the title role collected an estimated $100.5 million in the U.S. and Canada in its debut weekend, surpassing analyst projections of $80 million to $90 million and the studio's more modest expectations of $65 million to $70 million, to top the domestic chart, AceShowbiz reveals.

While the female superhero movie's opening gross is still behind recent DCEU offerings including "Suicide Squad" ($133.7 million) and "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" ($166 million), it becomes the highest domestic opening for a female director. "Fifty Shades of Grey", directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, previously held the record with $85.1 million in 2015.

The well-reviewed movie (93% positive rating on critic site Rotten Tomatoes) drew a fairly split audience, with 52% female and 48% male. "It shows that superhero movies aren't just about men. They're about women as well," says Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. "All the noise about Patty Jenkins breaking the glass ceiling for directors" added to it as well.

"Wonder Woman" also soars overseas, raking in $122.5 million internationally. "Here, you have a property that has really resonated with audiences all around the world," Goldstein comments on the impressive feat. "There is something special about Gal Gadot, but something timely about Wonder Woman. She is a character that just has been embraced worldwide."

Behind the new champion is another newcomer, "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie", which sits at No. 2 with an estimated $23.5 million. The 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation film surpasses analysts' modest projections of $20 million.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" lands in the third place in its second week, adding approximately $21.6 million and bringing its total domestic cume to $114.6 million so far. The adventure movie starring Johnny Depp grossed $386.6 million internationally to date for a global cume of $501.2 million.

"Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2" drops two places to No. 4 with an estimated $9.7 million. The latest MCU movie has grossed $355.4 million domestically so far for a global gross to date of $816.6 million.

Rounding out the top five is "Baywatch", the movie adaptation of the 1990s' TV series of the same name. The critically-panned comedy adds an estimated $8.5 million in its second week, collecting $41.7 million domestically so far.