Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel are leading the charge in upping women’s presence in the superhero movie genre, which box office analysts say will only continue to grow as female-led superhero movies emerge as the next wave of Hollywood blockbusters.
“Female superheroes should be a consistent presence going forward. As the stunning success of Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians has taught us, representation matters,” Karie Bible, a box office analyst for movie consulting firm Exhibitors Relations, told CNBC.
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“Women want to see themselves reflected on screen and empowered. Why should the men get to have all the fun?”
Warner Bros.’ DC Comics adaptation Wonder Woman, headlined by Gal Gadot and steered by director Patty Jenkins, became the first female-led superhero hit of the modern era to the tune of $821 million worldwide — making it the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman.
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, which drew praise for its many breakout female characters, proved an even bigger hit with $1.3 billion worldwide, becoming the ninth highest-grossing film ever and just the third to earn more than $700 million domestically.
In the wake of their successes, studios will continue to diversify if they hope to reclaim the same box office potential exhibited by Wonder Woman, which put the spotlight on women, and Black Panther, which put the spotlight on people of color — two demographics starved for representation on the big screen.
“They’re reading the temperature of the room,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst for BoxOffice.com. “Slowly but surely, the industry is moving toward equal representation in terms of who runs the studios, who makes the movies and whose faces we see on the big screen.”
Robbins said Gadot and her Amazonian superheroine are now “the indisputable foundation of the current DC movie universe.”
While female is the future, Bible said the films will find themselves under more scrutiny than those of their male counterparts.
“If they aren’t successful, it will give studio executives and industry pundits reason to believe that female superheroes or action films don’t make money and won’t in the future,” Bible said. “Men are allowed to fail, but women are given fewer chances and the stakes seem higher. There is little margin for error.”
Disney is anticipating another box office hit with Captain Marvel, which opens on March 8 — International Women’s Day — and is the first film in the studio’s ten-year history headlined by a woman.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe received its first female director in Anna Boden, who directs with filmmaking partner Ryan Fleck, and Cate Shortland — who has been tapped for Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson in the Avenger’s first standalone movie — will become the first solo female director for the studio.
Marvel most recently set Chloe Zhao for The Eternals, holding true to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige’s promise Marvel Studios would continue to diversify its behind-the-camera talent when he said “a heck of a lot” of future Marvel films would be under the stewardship of female directors.
Following the elevation of female heroines like Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), who headlined Ant-Man and the Wasp with superhero partner Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), who was served a meaty role in Avengers: Infinity War before landing her own future series on Disney’s premiere streaming service, Feige said Captain Marvel will give way to even more superhero movies with leading ladies.
“I’m anxious for the time where it’s not a novelty that there is a female-led superhero movie, but it is a norm,” he told EW. “And it is less a story of, ‘Oh, look, a female hero,’ and it’s more a story of, ‘Oh, what’s this about? Who’s this character? I’m excited to see that.’ And I think we can get there.”
DC is similarly stacking its slate with women in front of and behind the camera, as Cathy Yan develops Birds of Prey — teaming Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) with new-to-the-big-screen superheroines Black Canary, Huntress, and Renee Montoya, who are now in the process of being cast with an eye towards diverse talent — and acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay develops New Gods, while Jenkins and Gadot are now shooting their Wonder Woman sequel.
Warner Bros. also has Batman spinoff Batgirl on their plate, expected to land a female director, and the studio is actively seeking a female director to helm its in-the-works Superman spinoff Supergirl.
“Realistically, there is still a segment of culture represented by vocal dissenters,” Robbins explained. “The latter kind of thought is fading with each generation, though, and frankly, not nearly as strong as the demand for good movies starring characters of all genders, colors and backgrounds.”
