Wonder Woman 1984 nosedives in second box office weekend
The sequel starring Gal Gadot wasn't as big of a moneymaker as the original film. But are closed theaters, HBO Max or disappointed fans to blame?
Even Gal Gadot couldn't save the new movie Wonder Woman 1984.
Fans excited to see Wonder Woman in action again in the movie Wonder Woman 1984 -- starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins -- apparently weren't willing to pay for it. The new movie, which debuted on Dec. 25, dropped 67 percent for its second weekend in domestic US theaters. The film's opening weekend hit $36.1 million, with the worldwide total at $118.5 million so far.
The large drop in Wonder Woman grosses could be attributed to a number of factors including theaters being closed due to the pandemic; fans watching the movie on HBO Max (at no extra charge for its subscribers); and the movie getting not-so-stellar reviews from fans sharing their opinions on social media.
The dip in movie profits could also be attributed to Wonder Woman 1984's release date. The movie was originally set for June 2020, then August, then October, and then finally in December on Christmas Day. Most comic book movies don't open on Christmas Day.
It's also not clear how much HBO Max had on the impact on the movie's final gross. Fans who couldn't see Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters due to pandemic concerns, tuned into the movie on HBO Max. If they were already subscribers, they got to see Wonder Woman at no extra charge.
And then there are the critics' and fans' ratings. Wonder Woman 1984's Rotten Tomatoes rating is 61 percent from critics and 74 percent from fans.
This is a lot lower than the original 2017 Wonder Woman film, which has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93 percent from critics and 84 percent from fans. This is unexpected considering the critics' first reactions to Wonder Woman 1984 were positive.
Not only that, fans took to social media on the movie's release date to express disappointment in Wonder Woman 1984. That negative word of mouth could also have contributed to the movie's less than stellar box office performance.
Regardless, this news of the plummeting drop in numbers of its second weekend isn't good news for DC Comics or Warner Bros. Time will tell if other movies will suffer the same fate for same day streaming on services like HBO Max.
