Alamo Drafthouse is offering women-only screenings of Wonder Woman across the U.S., and shutting down critics with snarky responses. Warner Bros launched their DC Comics Extended Universe in earnest last spring with Zack Snyder's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - a followup to the director's Man of Steel - and continued the shared superhero world with David Ayer's Suicide Squad last summer. The next DCEU installment, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, is little more than a week away from hitting theaters and fans are eagerly anticipating the film.

After debuting in Batman V Superman to help the two titular heroes take on Doomsday, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) returns in a solo movie that tells her origin story. Based on what we've seen in trailers for Wonder Woman, the film will depict Diana growing up on Themyscira then traveling to Europe during World War I in order to take on Ares. Wonder Woman has received positive early reactions from fans and critics alike, ramping up excitement among moviegoers, especially since the DCEU entry marks the superheroine's first solo live-action film.

In honor of Wonder Woman's message of empowering women, the popular theater chain Alamo Drafthouse has announced screenings open exclusively to those who identify as women. The chain's Austin, Texas location was the first to offer such screenings, though Brooklyn and Washington D.C. have added screenings as well. Alamo Drafthouse's annoucement drew criticism from those that claimed it was sexist to exclude men, and the theater chain's responses have drawn even more attention to the screenings. Take a look:

As supporters of Alamo Drafthouse's women-only Wonder Woman screenings have pointed out, Diana herself hails from Themyscira - a land populated entirely by Amazons, a race of warriors who are exclusively women, making the event screenings especially appropriate for the DCEU's latest entry. It should also be noted that each Alamo Drafthouse location is offering a number of mixed-gender screenings that are open to everyone, while there are only one or two women-only screenings for each participating location as of this writing.

In terms of why Alamo Drafthouse might celebrate the release of Wonder Woman with women-only screenings, the film marks a number of major milestones for both the DCEU and Hollywood. Wonder Woman is the first female-led comic book adaptation to hit theaters in over a decade, the first major solo superheroine movie (since Elektra and Catwoman are arguably anti-heroes), Warner Bros' first DCEU entry directed by a woman, and the first $100+ million superhero film with a female director. Rather than being about exclusion, these select Wonder Woman screenings seem to be about giving women a space to enjoy and celebrate Diana's first solo film as a shared experience.

Undoubtedly, there will still be those that don't support Alamo Drafthouse's women-only screenings, but with Wonder Woman set to hit wide release in just over a week, everyone will be able to see the Amazonian princess in action soon enough. And, with early reactions for Wonder Woman looking incredibly positive, the most anticipated movie of summer 2017 may have an incredibly successful opening weekend.

Next: Exclusive Look at Wonder Woman: Diana of Themyscira Art Print

Source: Alamo Drafthouse

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