Wonder Woman exceeds forecasts as viewers opt to stream

Los Angeles

WONDER Woman and her golden lasso exceeded box office forecasts to bring in US$16.7 million for North America's top post-pandemic opening weekend for any feature film this entire year.

Wonder Woman 1984 took in an estimated US$36.1 million globally from 42 markets in release over the weekend, after opening to slow sales in international markets last weekend.

Even so, with most US theatres closed, the film generated a fraction of the US$412.8 million in domestic ticket revenue that the first instalment in the series brought in three years ago.

That may not be so bad for AT&T's Warner Bros, the studio behind the US$200 million film. Wonder Woman 1984 also debuted on HBO Max on Christmas Day, which helped to break usage records, according to the studio. Almost half of the platform's retail subscribers watched the film on the day of its arrival and HBO Max saw total viewing hours on Friday more than triple in comparison to a typical day in the previous month.

The response was strong enough for the studio to announce on Sunday that it will fast-track development of the trilogy's third installment, which again will team up Gal Gadot in the title role and Patty Jenkins as director. "(The film) broke records and exceeded our expectations across all of our key viewing and subscriber metrics in its first 24 hours on the service, and the interest and momentum we are seeing indicates this will likely continue well beyond the weekend," said Andy Forssell, executive vice president and general manager for WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer.

While the film's arrival should spur sign-ups to the new streaming service, it shows just how bleak things are for exhibitors. Movie chains, including market leader AMC Entertainment Holdings, are teetering on bankruptcy after a financially devastating 2020 - with ticket sales down almost 80 per cent as of last weekend.

The performance of Wonder Woman shows how rocky the path back to financial health will be. "Audiences are remaining cautious until vaccines are widely available," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice Pro. With HBO Max offering on-demand screenings to subscribers at no extra cost, "many people are likely to take advantage of that".

The US$16.7 million debut for Wonder Woman 1984 topped forecasts that it would generate US$10 million to US$15 million in domestic sales over the first weekend, according to Boxoffice Pro estimates. That's just a sliver of the US$103.3 million its predecessor brought in with its debut. The US opening takes the worldwide cumulative tally to US$85 million, after generating a US$38 million opening last weekend. The international cumulative is US$68.3 million.

Analysts have warned that box-office receipts are especially hard to predict in the Covid-19 era, with theatres subject to a patchwork of frequently changing restrictions. About two-thirds of US theatres are still closed, and those that are open must limit ticket sales to allow for social distancing.

Domestic ticket sales this year amounted to US$2.24 billion as of last weekend, down from US$10.7 billion a year earlier, according to Comscore. Still, the DC superhero movie represents an important restart for the dormant box office. Only one major film had made a theatrical debut since the pandemic began: Tenet, also produced and distributed by Warner Bros, came out in September. The reception was tepid, prompting further delays of big movies and some significant changes in the way films are released.

Some other, smaller-budget movies will also make their debuts in theatres this weekend, including News of the World, a post-Civil War drama starring Tom Hanks, and Promising Young Woman, a thriller starring Carey Mulligan. Both are from Comcast's Universal Pictures, which forged agreements with theaters earlier this year to make its films available online for purchase and rental as soon as 17 days after they appear in cinemas.

Wonder Woman will also go toe-to-toe with family fare on other streaming services. Walt Disney released the animated feature Soul last Friday on Disney+, one of several films the company diverted to streaming because of the theatrical shutdown. Soul opened in a few international markets, taking in US$7.6 million, including US$5.5 million from China.

The entertainment giant, like AT&T's WarnerMedia, spent the pandemic investing in its Disney+ online brand, making it even harder to predict how popular movies will do in theaters once they fully reopen. "We will have to continue waiting until next year to truly gauge how studios feel about this strategy and for how much longer they will deem it necessary," analyst Robbins said of Wonder Woman 1984.

"This film alone may not be a great barometer to go by." BLOOMBERG