There’s only a few weeks left until Wonder Woman smashes into theatres and box office tracking data points to the DC Comics adaptation debuting with a solid $65 million in North America. That’s not a huge number compared to most superhero movies these days, but it’s certainly not anything to scoff at. To put it into context for you, 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor also opened with $65 million, while Ant-Man scored $57 million in 2015.
The difference, of course, is that Wonder Woman is arguably more recognizable than those one-time B-List Marvel superheroes, and considering the fact she’s already appeared in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and features heavily in Justice League marketing materials, you’d think the estimates for the film’s debut would be a bit higher. For a little more context, Green Lantern opened to $53.1 million, while Batman Begins kicked off its run with $48.7 million – and those were both pre-DCEU releases.
Wonder Woman is going to need to score some positive reviews to have a strong box office run, especially as it doesn’t have the same star-studded cast which helped Suicide Squad rake in all that cash. So far, early buzz has been mixed and there’s definitely a bit of skepticism surrounding the film at the moment. That being said, the footage we’ve seen looks tremendously promising and we all know how dynamite Gal Gadot is in the role. Of course, that alone doesn’t guarantee success, but $65 million certainly isn’t a bad start and with any luck, it’ll end up inching a bit closer to $70-$75 million once those final first weekend numbers roll in.