“Wonder Woman” helmer Patty Jenkins has made herstory yet again. Back in June she earned a place in the record books when the Gal Gadot-led superheroine film became the top-grossing live-action film ever directed by a woman. As of today, “Wonder Woman” has earned more than $816 million worldwide. And now Jenkins has officially been confirmed to direct and co-write its sequel, The Hollywood Reporter writes. Described as “precedent-setting,” the deal makes Jenkins the highest-paid female filmmaker of all-time.
While the exact figures aren’t known, the deal is said to be in the high seven figures, somewhere in the $7 million to $9 million range. The “Monster” writer-director is also entitled to “considerable backend” of what promises to be another box office smash. Jenkins was paid $1 million for directing the first installment of the franchise. As a frame of comparison, THR points out that “at her peak, filmmaker Nancy Meyers earned in the $5 million range.” The source describes Jenkins’ negotiation process as “unusually lengthy and tough,” and report that she was trying to get something “on the level of Zack Snyder’s pay after he helmed ‘Man of Steel.’”
Jenkins’ negotiating didn’t just guarantee her more well-deserved money — it also sent a message: don’t undervalue women.
“Wonder Woman” is the second highest-grossing film in the U.S. this year and the seventh highest-grossing film internationally. The origin story is just the second woman-directed film to be released with a budget of $100 million-plus. The first was Kathryn Bigelow’s 2002 thriller “K-19: The Widowmaker.”
When Jenkins was asked a question about the responsibility of stepping behind the camera for the most expensive film ever helmed by a woman she said, “I can’t take on the history of 50 percent of the population just because I’m a woman.” She explained, “I’m just trying to make the greatest version of ‘Wonder Woman’ that I can for the people who love the character as much as I do and hope that the movie lives up to all the pressure that’s on it.”
Jenkins is signed on to helm the pilot of “One Day She’ll Darken,” a limited drama that received a straight-to-series order from TNT. Inspired by a true story, the project centers on a woman who was given away by her teenage birth mother and resolves to uncover the secrets surrounding her past.
