Not only will “Wonder Woman” hold on to the top spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row with an estimated $57.2 million, it’s also bringing in a holdover total higher than its DC predecessors, “Batman v Superman” and “Suicide Squad.”
While “BvS” and “Squad” had much higher opening weekends than “Wonder Woman” when they were released last year — $166 million and $133.6 million, respectively — they both suffered a 67 percent drop-off thanks to poor critical and audience reception, with “BvS” making $51.3 million and “Squad” making $43.5 million.
“Wonder Woman” is seeing the opposite effect, with nearly unanimous critical praise and strong word-of-mouth allowing it to post a second weekend total just 45 percent down from its $103 million opening. With that result, “Wonder Woman” will see its 10-day domestic cume pushed north of $200 million and its worldwide cume pushed past $400 million.
In second is Universal’s “The Mummy,” which has fallen hard at the domestic box office with a $32.2 million opening. The first film in the “Dark Universe” series was cursed with poor word of mouth, scoring 17 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- on CinemaScore, not to mention stiff competition from “Wonder Woman.” As a result, it has been served an opening total lower than any of the Brendan Fraser “Mummy” films, including “The Scorpion King.”
Strong returns from overseas are helping take some sting out of the rough opening, as “The Mummy” is estimated to finish the weekend with a $174 million global bow. Still, for a film that was supposed to launch a new cinematic universe for Universal, this is not the start they wanted, as an individual with knowledge of the film tells TheWrap that the break-even point for the film sits at around $375 million. The next “Dark Universe” film, Bill Condon’s “Bride of Frankenstein,” is not due out until February 2019, so Universal has time to make a course correction.
Fox/Dreamworks’ “Captain Underpants” takes third this weekend with $12.6 million, putting its domestic cume at $43 million. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” takes $10.7 million in its third frame. Combined with $34.8 million from overseas, the film will cross the $600 million global mark after three weeks in theaters.
Rounding out the top five is A24’s “It Comes at Night,” with an estimated $6 million from 2,533 screens. The horror film received praise from critics but poor word-of-mouth from audiences, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 86 percent and a D from CinemaScore. Bleecker Street’s “Megan Leavey” takes eighth on the weekend with a $3.7 million opening from 1,956 screens.
8 Villains 'Wonder Woman' Could Face in The Sequel (Photos)
With the success of "Wonder Woman," Warner Bros. wants to get you a sequel as soon as possible -- and every great story needs a villain. Here's who Diana might face in "Wonder Woman 2."
Warner Bros
1. Medusa In one of the most popular storylines from the "Wonder Woman" comics, Diana faced off against the Gorgon Medusa in a battle to the death inside Yankee Stadium. Of course it was broadcast worldwide.
DC Comics
2. Cheetah British archaeologist Barbra Minerva, aka Cheetah, is another of Wonder Woman's most popular foes in the comics. Her comic look probably won't work for a sequel, so a cinematic upgrade would be needed.
DC Comics
3. Deimos Deimos is the God of Terror and also the son of Ares, the God of War from the first film. Deimos could look to avenge Ares in the sequel.
DC Comics
4. Circe The evil sorceress was almost the villain in the first film, but didn't make the final cut. In the comics, she has teamed up with DC bad guys like Lex Luthor.
DC Comics
5. Giganta One of Wonder Woman's more classic foes is a brilliant scientist, Dr. Doris Zeul, who managed to hijack the body of a circus performer with the power to increase her size.
DC Comics
6. Genocide Wonder Woman's version of Superman-killer Doomsday, Genocide defeated Wonder Woman in their first ever battle -- and even stole the lasso of truth.
DC Comics
7. Maxwell Lord Both cunning and ruthless, Max Lord is Wonder Woman's version of Lex Luthor. Lord was so villainous, Wonder Woman snapped his neck in the comics.
DC Comics
8. Doctor Psycho The misogynistic Doctor Psycho seeks to dominate women with his mind- control powers. He once targeted Steve Trevor in order to mess with Wonder Woman's emotions.
Now that Wonder Woman has faced off against Ares, TheWrap takes a look at possible villains she could face next in the sequel
With the success of "Wonder Woman," Warner Bros. wants to get you a sequel as soon as possible -- and every great story needs a villain. Here's who Diana might face in "Wonder Woman 2."