The debut of Wonder Woman 1984 has apparently exceeded the expectations of Warner Bros., as the company announced today that a threequel is already in development.
Patty Jenkins’ sequel was undeniably one of the most-anticipated films of 2020. And the numerous delays only increased fan fervor. That being said, a lot of people felt a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max would take away from the movie’s momentum. Though if anything, things seem to have worked in favor of Gal Gadot’s latest outing as Diana Prince. So much so, in fact, that WB has just announced a threequel.
Wonder Woman 1984 grossed $19.4 million in its second weekend of playing overseas, which combined with its $16.7 million domestic debut, brings it to a total of $85 million worldwide so far. To that end, Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, has revealed that a Wonder Woman 3 is officially in the works, with Jenkins and Gadot set to return as its director/writer and star, respectively.
“As fans around the world continue to embrace Diana Prince, driving the strong opening weekend performance of Wonder Woman 1984, we are excited to be able to continue her story with our real life Wonder Women – Gal and Patty – who will return to conclude the long-planned theatrical trilogy,” he said.
HBO Max also announced that the flick was watched by “nearly half of the platform’s retail subscribers” on the first day, along with “millions of wholesale subscribers” who have access to the streaming service via cable. The viewing figures tripled on Friday as well, compared to a typical day in the previous month. The reception was so stupendous in scale, in fact, that HBO Max Help reported glitches and bottlenecks for some users.
WarnerMedia exec Andy Forssell claimed that the sequel also “broke records,” saying:
“Wonder Woman 1984 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’re seeing indicates this will likely continue well beyond the weekend. During these very difficult times, it was nice to give families the option of enjoying this uplifting film at home, where theater viewing wasn’t an option.”
If WB is indeed happy with how the movie is performing overall, then it’s safe to say that they’ll stick to their plan of releasing all 17 of their 2021 blockbuster films on HBO Max as well. A move, that despite its well-intentioned agenda amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has garnered a lot of controversy and rage from other industry leaders.
As for Wonder Woman 3, since it’s early days, it’ll be a long while before we hear anything about Jenkins’ plans to tackle her final film in the trilogy, but we’re glad that her and Gal Gadot will get another crack at the franchise to properly conclude the story of Diana Prince.
Published: Dec 27, 2020 02:31 pm