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Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine premiered in Los Angeles on this day in 2017. It became the first superhero film directed by a woman.
Patty Jenkins made history as the first woman director of this film and Wonder Woman 1984, which was released more recently in 2020. Jenkins is best known for her work in the Wonder Woman series. She made her feature directorial debut with the 2003 American biographical crime drama film Monster, which she wrote and directed.
Wonder Woman brought in more than $800 million at the box office in 2017 making it a success. It earned positive critical reviews, which was a huge win for Jenkins who felt the pressures of producing a major DC Comics film.
“I went into the release of the movie assuming it would be, in [the] best case, a mixed bag,” Jenkins said on the podcast The Director’s Cut. “So, the support and positivity that the movie has received…has been stunning.”
Jenkins reportedly made over $1 million to direct the DC Comics film.
Warner Bros. confirmed the sequel to return in 2020 with Wonder Woman 1984. The production company brought Jenkins to return as director of the sequel. She had already proven her value as a film director with the first film so it seemed like an obvious choice for Warner Bros. making her jump in earnings for the sequel substantial.
Though the sequel’s release was a journey with the impending pandemic and long-lasting effects of coronavirus on the movie theater industry, Jenkins secured a substantial amount for the film. Historically, women directors haven’t helmed big-budget films that garner in millions of dollars. Reports show that Jenkins made around $8 million or $9 million, which is a drastic difference in pay since the first film.
Jenkins spoke with the New York Times about how it felt to make history where she replied, “It feels great.”
She goes on to vaguely confirm her pay, “The weirdest part about it is that you can’t even quite wrap your head around the money, as somebody who’s never made huge amounts of money before. Really, I was so distracted with why it had to be that way that I wasn’t even able to absorb it.”
