It seems that a number of different box office analysts can’t quite make up their mind about the debut ofWonder Woman, which hits theaters on June 2. Last month, early projections claimed the superhero adventure was tracking for a solid $80 millionbox office opening weekend, but today we have reports that project both a higher and lower opening for Diana of Themyscira. While most analysts have peggedWonder Womanto open at $65 million, another tracking service projects a debut as high as $105 million.
This report fromThe Wrapreveals that Warner Bros. would be happy even with the low end of this box office projection spectrum, with the studio eyeing an opening weekend comparable to the debut of recent Marvel franchise openers such as 2015’sAnt-Man($57 million) or last year’sDoctor Strange($85 million). If the movie could surpass both of those debuts, it would be seen as a “major triumph,” especially for the first movie lead by afemale superhero, played by Gal Gadot, who isn’t quite yet a household name likeAnt-Manstar Paul Rudd orDoctor Strangestar Benedict Cumberbatch.
Still, the studio isn’t expectingWonder Womanto surpass the first two DCEU movies in their opening weekend,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice($166.6 million) andSuicide Squad($133 million). While both of those movies fared well at the box office, albeit below expectations, they were both trashed by critics, which is an area whereWonder Womanmay have an edge over her predecessors. Gal Gadot’s performance asWonder Womanwas largely seen as one of the few bright spots inBvSlast year, but it still remains to be seen how critics will spark toDiana of Themyscira’s first big screen adventure.
Regal Theaters recently announced aWonder Woman Ultimate Ticket, which will allow fans to seeWonder Womanin theaters every day during its theatrical release. While it remains to be seen how this will affect its box office performance, a much bigger issue is that it will face greater competition than bothBatman v SupermanandSuicide Squad, both before and after its launch. WhileWonder Womanwill only face the animated comedyCapain Underpantson June 2, it will debut a week after two highly-anticipated movies, Disney’sPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Talesand Paramount’sBaywatchon Memorial Day weekend. Then on June 9, it will faceThe Mummyreboot, with other heavy hitters likeCars 3(June 16) andTransformers: The Last Knight(June 21) following.
BothBatman v SupermanandSuicide Squadposted massive second weekend drops between 60% and 70%, a trend Warner Bros.' is surely hoping will be stopped withWonder Woman, although that will certainly be difficult with this increased competition. Regardless, though, there may be less pressure on this movie, since DC Films president Geoff Johns recently stated that he couldn’t confirm plans for aWonder Woman sequel. Still, ifWonder Womandoes open somewhere between this massive box office projection range, we could very well be hearing about a sequel put in development after its debut.
