After the success of “Wonder Woman 1984”, Warner Bros. announced plans to accelerate the development of the third episode of the franchise.
“Wonder Woman 3” will be written and directed by Patty Jenkins with Gal Gadot reprising her role as the goddess Themysciran, the studio said on Sunday.
“We are thrilled to be able to continue your story with our real-life Wonder Women – Gal and Patty – who will return to complete the much-planned theatrical trilogy,” said Toby Emmerich, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Group in a statement.
“Wonder Woman 1984” – which was released in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously on Friday – exceeded the studio’s pandemic projections with a $ 16.7 million North American debut and $ 85 global rollover million in ticket sales.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, only 39% of cinemas across the country were open with limited capacity. The film was released in more than 2,100 cinemas across the country, compared to 4,165 in 2017 for the first “Wonder Woman” film.
Private clocks and large-format screens, such as IMAX and Dolby, helped fuel ticket sales, Warner said.
The film, which won a B + CinemaScore and a 65% “fresh” rating on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, was the pioneer in Warner Bros. ‘s controversial new launch plan. Max. Traditionally, studios have waited about three months before releasing new films at home, but the pandemic has forced them to rethink conventional film distribution strategies, as most cinemas remain closed.
According to Warner Bros., almost half of HBO Max’s direct subscribers watched the movie on the day of its release along with millions of subscribers who have access to the streaming service through cable and wireless plans. The company did not disclose how many consumers watched the movie at home, but said the hours that subscribers spent watching HBO Max titles more than tripled on Friday compared to a typical day last month.
“’Wonder Woman 1984′ broke records and exceeded our expectations in all of our top views and subscriber metrics in the first 24 hours on the service and the interest and momentum we’re seeing indicates that this is likely to continue beyond the weekend,” he said. Andy Forssell, executive vice president and general manager, Warner Media Direct-to-Consumer, in a statement. “During these very difficult times, it was good to give families the option of enjoying this uplifting film at home, where watching movies was not an option.”