Won't it be wonderful when headlines aren't phrased: "'Wonder Woman' Sets a Record Opening for a Female Directed Feature"

Box Office Mojo

by Brad Brevet
June 4, 2017

Wonder Woman exceeded all expectations this weekend, delivering an impressive $100 million opening, the largest opening for a female-directed feature, vastly out-performing the previous record holder Fifty Shades of Grey, which debuted with $85.1 million back in 2015. Meanwhile, Fox's release of the DreamWorks Animation feature Captain Underpants came up a little short of Mojo's forecast while mildly outperforming the studio's modest expectations. Overall, the weekend dramatically outperformed the post-holiday weekend from 2016 by a massive 38% as the top twelve delivered a combined $176 million.

At the top, Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot in the title role, went into the weekend boasting the best reviews out of the four films that have been released in the DC Extended Universe so far and the critical opinion definitely aided the film's awareness as the buzz only continued to grow throughout the week. Following an impressive $38.76 million Friday that buzz was no longer due to critics as audiences gave the film an "A" CinemaScore, pushing the film over $100 million for its opening weekend, the first female directed feature to achieve such an opening. And as far as female-led comic book adaptations are concerned, it's by far the largest opening as the second closest is Paramount's Ghost in the Shell, which debuted with $18.6 million earlier this year.

In fact, Wonder Woman delivered the 16th largest opening weekend for a comic book adaptation all-time. It's the sixth largest opening among that group if you don't count sequels and, based on estimates, the sixth largest June opening all-time. Looking ahead, given the strong word of mouth, it would be no shock to see it deliver $300 million domestically or at least very close to that figure.

Beyond the CinemaScore, the film played to an audience that was 52% female vs. 48% male, 14% of the audience was under the age of 18 and 47% was over the age of 35.

Internationally, the performance was equally strong, as Wonder Woman brought in an estimated $122.5 million from 55 markets, which includes a $38 million debut in China, bettering the openings for the likes of Man of Steel, Thor, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Additional openings include the UK ($7.5m), Mexico ($8.4m), South Korea ($8.5m), Brazil ($8.3m), Australia ($4.9m), Russia ($4.8m) and Indonesia ($4.7m). Still to come are openings in France next week, Germany on June 15, Spain on June 23 and the film opens in Japan in August. 

In second, Fox's release of DreamWorks Animation's Captain Underpants delivered a bit of a ho-hum opening with an estimated $23.5 million. While enough for a second place finish it's one of the smallest opening weekends for a DreamWorks Animated title, in fact it ranks 26th among 35 total films. Fortunately, the studio made the film for a fraction of what it cost to make previous DWA titles, such as Rise of the Guardians, which was made for $145 million and only opened to $23.7 million before just barely topping $103.4 million domestically. So, should Captain Underpants holdover well things might not look so dissatisfying, but with Cars 3 and Despicable Me 3 just around the corner it's going to need to hustle.

Captain Underpants received a "B+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences and played to an overall audience that was 54% male vs. 46% female, of which 65% where under the age of 25 and of the younger audience, 60% were boys and 91% of the audience ranged from the ages of 7-12.

Internationally, Captain Underpants debuted in just eight markets where it brought in an estimated $740k led by a nearly $300k debut in Portugal.

Moving along, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales appears to be sinking fast domestically as it dropped 65.7% in its second weekend, bringing in an estimated $21.6 million. The film's domestic cume now stands at $114.6 million. Internationally things look a bit brighter as it brought in another $73.8 million pushing its global cume over $500 million after 12 days in global release with the film still yet to open in Japan.

Disney also claimed the fourth spot this weekend with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which delivered an estimated $9.7 million as its domestic cume now climbs over $355 million. Internationally it added another $4.4 million as its global gross now stands at $816.6 million, making it the fifth highest grossing worldwide release among the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Rounding out the top five is Paramount's Baywatch, which dipped 54.1% in its second weekend for a domestic cume of $41.7 million. The film did roll-out to 31 international markets this weekend where it brought in $23.8 million including openings in the UK ($5.8m), Germany ($3.9m), Australia ($2.7m), Russia ($1.8m), India ($1.6m), Italy ($729k) and Hong Kong ($701k). The film's global cume now stands over $67 million with openings in Brazil, Mexico, Spain and France coming in the next few weeks.

Elsewhere, in moderate release Lionsgate released Pantelion's 3 Idiotas into 349 theaters where it grossed an estimated $600k and Cohen Media's release of Churchill starring Brian Cox opened with $426k from 215 theaters.

In limited release CBS Films' Dean brought in an estimated $60,366 from 15 theaters ($4,024 PTA); IFC's Band Aid brought in an estimated $31,500 from three theaters ($10,500 PTA); China Lion released Beautiful Accident into 15 theaters where it grossed an estimated $25,000 ($1,667 PTA); A24's The Exception debuted in just two locations with an estimated $23,337 ($11,669 PTA); Vitagraph's Letters from Baghdad debuted with $18,250 from two locations ($9,125 PTA); Samuel Goldwyn's Past Life brought in an estimated $16,215 from four locations ($4,054 PTA); and finally, Matson's Radio Dreams opened in one location with an estimated $2,053.

Next weekend Universal will kick off their Dark Universe with The Mummy starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella in 4,000 theaters while Bleecker Street releases Megan Leavey starring Rooney Mara; A24 will debut the horror feature It Comes at Night; and Fox Searchlight will release My Cousin Rachel into ~500 theaters.

You can check out all of this weekend's estimated results right here and we'll be updating our charts with weekend actuals on Monday afternoon.

Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo and author Brad Brevet at @bradbrevet.

**SPOILERS** Marvel Just Killed Off A Major Character

Warning: spoilers for the Secret Empire event are ahead!

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe presses forward with its Phase Three plans and the inevitable battle with Thanos, the Marvel Comics universe is currently caught up in the Secret Empire event, where Hydra controls the world and Captain America, a hero who's fought the terrorist organization for years, is actually one of their high-ranking agents. While Secret Empire has seen other Marvel heroes joining Hydra's ranks, others have remained diligent and are fighting back against them. One of those heroes is Phil Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent extraordinaire. Unfortunately, he's now out of the game permanently thanks to Wade Wilson, better known to everyone as Deadpool.

Unlike most of Captain America's other close allies, Phil Coulson noticed something was off about Steve Rogers after he'd been de-aged back to his youthful self. This week's Deadpool #31, which takes place before Hydra rose to power, saw Coulson discovering how Cap was responsible for the Chitauri attacks on Earth. As recapped on the Marvel website, Coulson tried to send out a message to pass on what he'd learned to the right people, but his flying car Lola was shot out of the sky by Deadpool. Yes, for those of you who haven't been keeping up with Secret Empire, Deadpool has been one of the Marvel protagonists helping Captain America as part of Hydra's Avengers Unity Squad.

Surviving the crash and knowing he didn't stand a chance of eliminating Deadpool, Phil Coulson made it to a safe house, but he didn't stay safe for long. Deadpool squeezed off a gunshot and mortally wounded Coulson. As the agent died, he realized that without Deadpool's interference, he would have successfully stopped Steve Rogers' master plan. Deadpool also blew up the safe house, leaving no doubt that Coulson was killed.

Unlike most comic book characters, Phil Coulson didn't originate from the comic books. He was created specifically for the first Iron Man movie, and after the character, played by Clark Gregg) was well received, he returned for Iron Man 2, Thor and The Avengers, serving as one of the primary connective threads between the MCU movies in Phase One. Coulson now leads Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on TV, but the character made his comics debut in 2012's Battle Scars #6, and since then has been a S.H.I.E.L.D. mainstay across numerous titles. Sadly, he was taken out five years later. However, the regular comic book readers out there know that death is rarely permanent for heroes and villains alike. So while Coulson isn't technically "super," there's still a chance he'll be brought back one of these days, whether it's through resurrection, a reality rewrite, as an LMD, etc. He may be gone now, but don't permanently rule out a return.

You can check out how the Secret Empire series and its tie-ins are progressing digitally or at your local comic book store.

Fox Animation Picks Up 'Witch Boy' Graphic Novel

Hollywood Reporter
Courtesy of Scholastic
Molly Knox Ostertag

The book is the first solo graphic novel outing for Molly Knox Ostertag, who works as a designer on the Disney Channel show 'Star vs. the Forces of Evil.'

Fox Animation has preemptively picked up the feature film rights to The Witch Boy, an upcoming graphic novel by Molly Knox Ostertag.

Witch Boy centers on 13-year-old Aster, whose family raises all their girls to be witches and boys to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. The boy hasn’t shifted, and he’s fascinated by witchery. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help … but as a witch. With the help of a non-conforming friend, Aster will have to find the courage to save his family while also be true to himself.

Scholastic Press, which is behind such graphic novel best-sellers as Raina Telgemeier’s Sisters and Ghosts, is set to publish The Witch Boy in October.

Fox senior executive Darlene Caamaño Loquet will oversee the project for the studio.
Ostertag graduated in 2014 from the School of Visual Arts, where she studied cartooning and illustration, and currently works as a designer on the Disney Channel show Star Vs. the Forces of Evil. The 25-year-old recently collaborated with author Sharon Shinn on the sci-fi graphic novel Shattered Warrior, which hit shelves earlier this year from First Second Books. Witch Boy is her solo graphic novel debut.

Ostertag, who also illustrates the popular webcomic Strong Female Protagonist with co-creator Brennan Lee Mulligan, is repped by APA and Linnan Literary Management.

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Lebanon BANS the blockbuster movie Wonder Woman because lead actress Gal Gadot is Israeli

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese authorities banned the new “Wonder Woman” movie Wednesday hours before it was due to premiere in the capital and following a campaign against its lead actress, Gal Gadot, who served in the Israeli army, a security official and activists said.

Cinemas in Beirut began removing the movie posters and cinema executives said the movie will not be shown because of the ban.

Lebanon is officially at war with Israel and the two countries have been through a number of wars. A particularly devastating 2006 war battered Lebanon’s infrastructure and left hundreds of civilians killed.

The ban is in accordance with a decades-old law that boycotts Israeli products and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with Israelis. The official says the ban issued by the minister of interior Wednesday has been relayed to the distribution company, which in turn have to inform the theaters planning to show the movie.

A premiere later Wednesday in Beirut was cancelled. An executive at the Grand Cinema chain said the company was planning to show the movie in 16 out of its 18 theaters around the country, but it would now be removed.

The security official said violators of the ban will have to face legal consequences, but he didn’t specify. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been published.

A campaigner against the movie, Rania Masri, hailed the decision to ban “Wonder Woman,” saying it signaled respect for the law. She said there was much anticipation as the decision was last minute, just before the official launch of the movie.

“Still, it was a joyous moment the minute the law was implemented,” Masri, of the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel - Lebanon told The Associated Press.

A similar campaign against another movie where Gadot played the role of Wonder Woman last year, “Batman v Superman,” never turned into an outright ban. Masri said it was “different” this time because of a major media campaign against the movie that has helped push for the ban.

On its front page Wednesday, the leading al-Akhbar newspaper had a column titled: “The Israeli soldier. She has no place in Lebanon.” The column featured a picture of Gadot carrying her Wonder Woman shield.


Warner Bros., which has released the film, declined comment.

Economy Ministry official Alia Abbas told the AP that her department, which is responsible for enforcing the boycott of Israel, had delivered a request to ban “Batman v Superman” last year. But the ban didn’t come together. This time they presented their petition to the security agencies on Monday, she said.

Tensions have been rising between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israel reportedly bombing several Hezbollah targets in Syria in recent months. Israel has signaled that the targets were smuggling sophisticated weapons to Lebanon. Hezbollah officials said recently that they are not seeking war but are ready for it.

On her Facebook page, Gadot had praised Israel’s military during the 2014 Gaza-Israel war, sending prayers to soldiers “who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas.”

Masri said the campaign to boycott is about “self-respect” and “resisting” normalizing relations with a state that is at war with Lebanon and occupies Palestinian land. “First and foremost she is Israeli. We don’t distinguish between a good Israeli and a bad Israeli,” Masri said of the boycott campaign.
The movie, based on the DC Comics character, has earned acclaim for Gadot for landing a rare leading role for a woman in a super hero movie.

Even though Lebanon enjoys a greater margin of freedom of expression than other countries in the region, prior censorship remains in place, particularly with content relating to Israel, religion and homosexuality.

Some in Lebanon criticized the call for the ban, but their voices were faint compared to the boycott campaign that featured in primetime television in Lebanon.

“We sold many tickets and we had to cancel now,” said Isaac Fahed, sales and distribution manager for Grand Cinemas, the company which had the movie scheduled for 16 of its 18 movie houses. He said his company would abide by the law, despite the losses it would suffer. “We have to respect that, but we have few questions.”

Fahed said previous movies with Gadot were shown in Lebanese theaters and her new film will be viewed online and sold on DVD.

“The end result will only ... affect the cinemas,” Fahed said.
___

Associated Press writers Andrea Rosa in Beirut and Jake Coyle in New York City contributed to this report.

Yes, I am a LITTLE excited about Wonder Woman this weekend!!!

Make sure you support your local movie theater or drive in!



Post your reviews here in the feedback, or on my Facebook (Wendy Chiles), Twitter (@faccordions), or my new Instagram (@wendy_chiles) page.  I would love to know what you think about the film and I may have a Wonder Woman prize coming to one of my followers!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the changes!

Wendy, the NOT so good Witch