Warner Bros. bets on us all wanting Wonder Woman 3
Amid the mixed reviews and critical fan reaction of Wonder Woman 1984, Warner Bros. has fast-tracked the development of a third Wonder Woman film. “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,” Warner Bros. chief Toby Emmerich said in a statement released to The A.V. Club on Sunday.
The announcement comes after a relatively impressive box office haul over the weekend following its simultaneous Christmas Day release in theaters and on HBO Max. While health experts tell The A.V. Club that a movie theater is pretty much the last place they would visit during the COVID-19 pandemic, the studio reports that Wonder Woman 1984 “took in an estimated $36.1 million globally from 42 markets in release this weekend (including U.S. and Canada). This takes the international running cume to $68.3 million, and the worldwide tally to $85 million.” The studio also says “nearly half” of HBO Max’s 12.6 million active users watched the film on December 25.
“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,” says Andy Forssell, head of WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer business. “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.”
No additional details have been released in terms of timing or plot for Wonder Woman 3, but fans only have a short wait to see Wonder Woman in the highly anticipated Snyder Cut, which will hit HBO Max as a four-hour miniseries in 2021.