WB’s Wonder Woman has greatly outdone financial expectations at the global box office, and as a result, the DC Extended Universe has made over $3B in ticket sales over the course of four films.
Box Office Mojo is reporting that the DCEU’s fourth movie has just cleared the $350M milestone domestically, which has pushed it past the $3B mark. Keeping the international rollout of Wonder Woman in mind, this was accomplished in a mere 35 days after opening overseas and 32 days after opening in the United States. Following mixed-to-negative critical reception and polarized audience responses to previous installments to the franchise, the critical success and strong financial performance of Wonder Woman was exactly what the rapidly-expanding Warner Brothers mega-franchise needed, and is sure to help build hype for this November’s Justice League. Not bad for a movie that was initially tracking to only have a $65M opening weekend!
For frame of reference, the DC Extended Universe is financially ahead of Marvel Studios and their Marvel Cinematic Universe at the same point in time relative to the beginning of their setting (namely, the last standalone movie they released before the big team-up). Four movies in, the DCEU has made $3,000.8M (and counting, since Wonder Woman still has yet to complete its run in most territories and has yet to open in Japan altogether) compared to the $2,292.4M total accounted for the first five MCU movies. In terms of production budget expenses for these same movies, the DCEU as it stands right now is only slightly more expensive than the MCU was at the time ($799M versus $780M). For both franchises, that translates to averages of $750.2M-per-DC-movie and $458.48M-per-Marvel-movie at those respective points in time.
Granted, this isn’t an apples-to-apples situation, as this comparison does not account for matters of inflation, the rise of 3-D, or the growth of the international film market – the DCEU started after a new “status quo” took effect while the MCU was going through these changes firsthand at this point in time. And this certainly isn’t to knock Marvel Studios at all, as their setting has consistently done well and has redefined how Hollywood is developing movie franchises; heck, it’s the key reason why the DC Extended Universe finally got off the ground. What we like to call the “Heroic Age” at this site is built upon the continued success of all comic book adaptations and genre movies as a whole, so DC’s setting doing so well bodes well for Marvel and everyone else in the long run.
Wonder Woman is still playing in theaters. Its cast includes Gal Gadot as Diana Prince (Wonder Woman), Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, Robin Wright as General Antiope, Lucy Davis as Etta Candy, David Thewlis as Sir Patrick Morgan, Elena Anaya as Doctor Isabel Maru (Doctor Poison), and Danny Huston as General Erich Ludendorff.
Justice League unites on November 17, 2017. The superhero epic features a cast that includes Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne (Batman), Henry Cavill as Kal-El/Clark Kent (Superman), Gal Gadot as Diana Prince (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa as Orin/Arthur Curry (Aquaman), Ezra Miller as Barry Allen (The Flash), Ray Fisher as Victor Stone (Cyborg), Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta, Robin Wright as General Antiope, J. K. Simmons as Commissioner James ‘Jim’ Gordon, Joe Morton as Dr. Silas Stone, Amber Heard as Mera, Billy Crudup as Dr. Henry Allen, and Kiersey Clemons as Iris West. Julian Lewis Jones and Michael McElhatton are also in the movie in unspecified roles.
Source: Box Office Mojo
