Wonder Woman remains the highest-rated DCEU movie on Rotten Tomatoes, and fans were expecting the sequel to perform just as well, if not even better. After all, Patty Jenkins hadn’t been shy in admitting that she acquiesced to several of Warner Bros.’ requests against her better judgement when shooting the first installment, and the filmmaker took producing, story and screenplay credits the second time around.
The early reactions to Wonder Woman 1984 were overwhelmingly positive, too, but that usually tends to be the case, with the studio hardly going to publicize any sort of negativity ahead of release. Since Gal Gadot’s return as Diana Prince hit theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day, though, the critical consensus has been edging slowly downwards as audiences and critics picked the story apart for a myriad of massive plot holes and the morally questionable return of Steve Trevor.
Wonder Woman 1984 has now dropped below the 60% threshold on Rotten Tomatoes, bringing an end to the DCEU’s three-film winning streak that saw Aquaman, Shazam! and Birds of Prey all rated Fresh. While 59% is hardly the end of the world, it’s a far cry from the first movie’s 93%, and it could realistically drop even lower when very few titles tend to see their scores increase the longer they’ve been available.
The third chapter in the Amazonian warrior’s story was fast-tracked into development just two days after Wonder Woman 1984 was released, but it’s hard to get a decent gauge on the blockbuster’s success. Box office takings have been decimated by the Coronavirus pandemic, reviews haven’t been too enthusiastic and many people who signed up to HBO Max specifically to check it out could end up canceling their subscriptions now they’ve seen it. Still, Warner Bros. seem happy enough with the final result to produce a third entry in the series.
