Wonder Woman fans have been waiting for decades to see the most famous superheroine in the world get a solo movie of her own and now, with the release just five weeks away, people are nervous that Warner Bros. is dropping the ball when it comes to marketing the film. Truth be told, it initially seems like a fair criticism. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 saw a plethora of trailers and numerous TV spots in the run-up to its release, with Justice League and Thor: Ragnarok garnering a huge amount of attention as well, despite their release dates being months away. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, not so much.
According to Donna Dickens at Uproxx, the studio has been “weirdly reticent” about the marketing campaign, pointing out that by this point in its promotional blitz, Suicide Squad already had three full trailers, four TV spots, a “buy advanced tickets” promo video and biographies for each member of the team. Shana O’Neil at SyfyWire concurs: “It worries a lot of people who are invested in the success of female superheroes in film and television.” All of this has fans wondering: has the studio gotten cold feet on Wonder Woman and decided to cut their losses?
Let’s look at the data. Five weeks out from release, Warner Bros had spent $2,645,643 on adverts for Suicide Squad, and Wonder Woman has seen a spend of $3,043,212 to date. So, if they’ve spent more money, where are the ads? Apparently, they’ve chosen a more targeted marketing strategy, with ads running during the Kids Choice Awards and the NCAA Basketball Championship, together with blanket presence at Wondercon and SXSW. Alternatively, maybe they’re keeping their heads low so as not to be drowned out by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s all-encompassing presence.
It’s a testament to the passion of Wonder Woman fans that they’re holding Warner Bros.’ feet to the fire like this. For fans of Diana Prince (and superheroines in general), this is a make or break movie, proving that female characters have what it takes to lead a film in a predominantly masculine blockbuster season.
One way or another, we’ll know for sure on June 2nd, when Wonder Woman (hopefully) opens big.
