Patty Jenkins, director of Wonder Woman, has smashed through another glass ceiling with the help of an Amazon warrior with a magic lasso. Within just a few weeks of opening, the 2017 superhero hit grossed $635 million in global ticket sales.
The previous record for a live-action film directed by a woman, incidentally, was $609.8 million for Phyllida Lloyd’s Mamma Mia!, back in 2008. Wonder Woman is a record breaker.
This victory won’t surprise the legions of fans who swarmed to theaters on opening weekend or the tearful moms who can finally bring their daughters to a superhero film starring a woman or the DC comics scholars who have been waiting for this moment since they were 10 years old.
It might, however, silence the online legions of men who complained bitterly about a women-only screening at the legendary Texas theater, the Alamo Drafthouse.
This was the same crowd that went into hysterics about women leading the Ghostbusters reboot. The summer before that, they were all up in arms about Charlize Theron’s character Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road because she wasn’t subservient enough to the titular Max.
The trollosphere even slithered into the conversation surrounding the production of Wonder Woman, with a comment promising that, “People inside are already confirming it’s another mess.”
That line came from an open letter to Warner Bros CEO Kevin Tsujihara, complaining about layoffs and the general state of the studio’s output over the past few years. The letter was signed “Gracie Law,” who claims to be an ex-employee.
Jenkins responded directly, via Twitter of course.
“Whoah, just saw some press about WW having problems,” the director wrote. “Are they serious? This is some made up bs right here. Made up! Produce a source, anyone.”
When no one responded with a source, Jenkins doubled down on her argument.
“You can’t because it’s entirely false,” she tweeted. “Don’t believe the hype people. Someone’s trying to spread some serious misinfo.”
The tweets go on and on, but Jenkins’ point is that there was no behind-the-scenes trouble on the set of Wonder Woman. We weren’t there, so we can’t claim to know how the entire production went, but one thing is for sure: the film itself is not a “mess.” Anything but, actually.
And the fans agree. Although Frozen remains the highest-earning film directed (co-directed, in this case) by a woman, Wonder Woman is now tops in the non-animated category. Besides, Wonder Woman is still in theaters. It could conceivably soar past the $1 billion record set by Frozen.
Either way, people are lining up to congratulate Jenkins on her success.
Actor Connie Nielsen, who played Wonder Woman’s mother, Queen Hippolyta, tweeted a nice message.
“@PattyJenks Am so unbelievably proud of you,” she wrote.
“Thank you my dear friend and incredible queen,” Jenkins responded. “Couldn’t have done it without you. Without all of you. Honored to be a part of it.”
Co-writer Geoff Johns told Variety that he and Jenkins are currently working on the story for the next installment in what promises to be a legendary franchise. “The goal is to make another great Wonder Woman film,” he said.
