We know where we’ll be next weekend — watching Gal Gadot kick ass on the big screen. After years of anticipation, Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” is opening in theaters. And we’ll be in attendance to support the superheroine. Women in Film (WIF) is hoping you will be, too. The non-profit has launched a campaign encouraging folks to see “Wonder Woman” during its opening weekend, June 2–3.
“‘Wonder Woman’ is an action-packed tale of female empowerment, directed by the unstoppable Patty Jenkins,” WIF writes. “Join forces to help Wonder Woman reach her destiny as a box office warrior in the big leagues. Together, we can catapult ‘Wonder Woman’ to an incredible opening weekend — blazing a trail for female superheroes and their stories for years to come.”
To say that there’s a lot of pressure on “Wonder Woman” to do well at the box office is an understatement. All big-budget blockbusters come with high expectations, but “Wonder Woman’s” success or failure will have an impact on how many female protagonists we see in franchises — and who will direct these films. There are still outdated perceptions in Hollywood that women don’t go see movies, movies about women don’t perform well at the box office, and women-directed films don’t have commercial potential. These are myths — but they are myths that many decision-makers continue to buy into. The stakes are unjustly high for “Wonder Woman,” but as WIF notes, “to support female-driven content, the best thing you can do is organize a group to see the film on opening weekend.”
Head over to WIF to commit to the campaign by signing up.
Pre-sale tickets for “Wonder Woman” are now available at AMC, Arclight, and Fandango. The latter just announced, via press release, the results of its biggest survey ever: “Wonder Woman” was voted the most-anticipated summer movie, beating out titles such as “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” More than 10,000 people voted.
According to the release, “Wonder Woman” is “currently outpacing 2011’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ at the same point in the Fandango sales cycle.” That movie went on to earn over $370 million worldwide. A separate Fandango survey of “Wonder Woman” fans found that 92 percent are excited to see a standalone female superhero movie, 87 percent wish Hollywood would make more movies featuring female superheroes, and 73 percent watched the “Wonder Woman” TV show when they were kids.
“It’s a thrill to see ‘Wonder Woman’ command the top spot on our most anticipated summer movies list,” said Fandango Managing Editor Erik Davis. “Early screening reactions are positive, with audiences responding favorably to the film’s exciting blend of action, adventure, humor, and romance. Plus, fans have been waiting their entire lives to see a live-action ‘Wonder Woman’ movie, and the film’s breakout star Gal Gadot makes it worth the wait.”