Why Wonderwoman Challenged Hollywood

As we get ready for the fabled Snyder Cut of Justice League, being released this month on HBO MAX, I can't help but wonder if it would have made a difference at the box office. I'm equally excited to see this new cut because the previews make it look like it will go places that the original theatrical release did not go. D.C. characters have a long and storied history, going back to the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics.

It's easy to see why the character has always been given the attention he's received. In movies, however, it's arguable whether they've been successful or not and the box office receipts, and opinions have been mixed throughout the modern era.

December 15th, 1978 Christopher Reeves dawns the cape and tights as the first color movie Superman, following in the footsteps of George Reeves. The movie had a production budget of 55,000.000 and saw a worldwide box office of 300,200,000 dollars to date. The rest of the movies performed worse, overall, and it's debatable whether it's the stories that they told, the timing of the movies, or a genuinely harder answer, that ole Superman isn't as marketable as the rest of the DC Comics characters. At the time it was hard to say because movie analytics were not what they are today.

Superman-300,200,000.00

Superman 2-190,400,000.00

Superman 3-80,200,000.00

Superman 4-36,700,000.00

Superman has since returned, after a long hiatus following the somewhat dismal performances of our favorite Kryptonian in the sequels starring Christopher Reeves as the titular hero. In 2006 fans of the long-beloved character were treated to another outing in Superman Returns. This time the titular hero is played by a fairly fresh-faced Brandon Routh. Adjusting for inflation, this outing didn't fare well at the box office. Looking purely at the numbers, comparing the first Christopher Reeves Superman to the first Brandon Routh Superman, Reeves Superman makes over forty percent more than the newcomer, Brandon Rouths' Superman. Don't fear for Routh, however, as he goes on to have a smattering of small movie roles and becomes another DC Character in the Arroverse as the Atom and lands on the spin-off, DC's Legends of Tomorrow which is going into its' sixth season.

We wait for another period, to be treated to a new Superman, in the form of Henry Cavill and the Man of Steel. Cavill proves to be much more of a Superman-styled character, even though, we're saddled with another Clark Kent coming of age story as our hero gets to know who he is. The Man of Steel is a modern-day re-envisioning of Superman 2, as he faces off with an amped-up General Zod, the world gets to know of his existence and he begins his fabled love story with Lois Lane. It's a story we witnessed many times, in comic books, television shows that came about in nearly every generation, and the original movie.

Then there's the Batman.

Ask and you'll get different answers and different reasons for the answers but Christian Bale was the best Batman. We've seen the caped crusader be played by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and now Ben Affleck, affectionately poked fun at by fans as Baffleck. While Affleck may be able to take the record for most appearances as Batman due to the current DC Universe, he's as hard to stomach as Daniel Craig was as James Bond, but that's an entirely different discussion.

One good reason for Christian Bales' Batman to be considered as the best of the bats, is the movie receipts. Bale is the only Batman to garner a membership in the impressive Billion Dollar Movie Club with the Dark Knight Rises coming in at just above the billion-dollar mark. Even Batman Vs Superman couldn't accomplish that feat and missed the billion-dollar mark by over one hundred million and change.

For a troubled and oftentimes, in disarray franchise with such potential the entire DC Movie Franchise has hung in the balance at times, been considered for the chopping block, and rightfully so. Often looked at as the failure of the franchises for their low returns over the years, none have had ultra-impressive outings...until one! Not to sound sexist but it is actually what it is, the big bad boys of the DC Universe, needed the girls to bail them out.

Under the helm of visionary director Patty Jenkins and with the amazing Gal Gadot as the titular hero in Wonderwoman we finally had our first blockbuster from DC that actually was, a blockbuster. The story of Diana Prince, the Princess of the Amazons, came to life with all the fare it deserved. From Themiscura the young princess with the powers of a god and the ideals of a hero traveled alongside her Steve Trevor, to defeat the mighty god of war, Aires. Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot told the most intriguing origin story in the superhero movies we've been flooded with and Wonderwoman launched to an impressive $821,847,012.00 box office haul on her first outing. Absolutely, Gal Gadot, is now and forever will be, the big screens Wonderwoman and the studio execs knew it as they immediately started negotiating contracts for the next movie.

For most people that just enjoy the movies and pay little attention to the thoroughfare of Hollywood stories, they might be surprised that these two women that came into the superhero genre, were paid "peanuts" compared to some counterparts. Now, that's not that I'm advocating that there's a disparity in Hollywood. I'll leave that for others to decide. However, Gal Gadot's initial contract included three appearances. each of those appearances was reported as being worth $300,000.00. If that seems low, Patty Jenkins was paid a lower than average wage as well. Much like Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man salary, which as it turns out was also only 300,000.00 for Iron Man's first outing, Gals salary has exploded, and deservingly so. She carried Batman and Superman in her appearance in Batman Vs. Superman. She's poised to lead the Justice League should there be additional installments in the series and she holds a star quality that just isn't there for our current caped crusaders.

First Wonderwoman-$821,847,012.00

First Batman-$411,348,924.00

First Superman-$300,200,000.00

In this fans opinion, if it weren't for the pandemic and the slow response to Wonderwoman 1984, I'd bet my last dollar on Gal Gadot hitting that mark set by ole Iron Man in no time at all and becoming the first 75million dollar woman in Hollywood.