The HBO premiere of Wonder Woman has earned the highest ratings on the network in two years. Patty Jenkins' breakout effort grossed more than any other comic book movie at the box office in 2017, with $412.5 million in the U.S. and $821.8 million worldwide. It ultimately came up short for Oscar hope, as did most superhero outings. But there's no question that the Gal Gadot-led origin tale stands as one of the most successful DC-based movies of all time.
With theater runs and awards season mostly in the rear view mirror, Wonder Woman now looks for fan consumption via on-demand networks and premium channels. HBO, in particular, just premiered the movie last Saturday, Feb. 10. The much-anticipated premiere did not disappoint, as Wonder Woman brought in HBO's biggest ratings for a new film release in quite some time.
Related: Gal Gadot Responds To Wonder Woman Oscar Snub
As reported by Vulture on Tuesday, Nielsen provided the premiere numbers for Wonder Woman on HBO, and they are massive. The initial Feb. 10 telecast drew about 2.809 million viewers. Incredibly, the movie beat out coverage of the 2018 Winter Olympics by approx. 300,000 viewers during the premiere. It was the biggest single-day audience for an HBO premiere since the Dwayne Johnson-starring San Andreas, which drew about 2.82 million viewers (just 11,000 more) on Feb. 27, 2016 - without having to compete with the Olympics. So that arguably makes Wonder Woman's numbers more impressive, despite being a bit lower overall.
As a DC extended universe movie, Wonder Woman outpaced all other releases in its HBO premiere. It handily beat Man of Steel's 2.374 million viewers, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice's 2.33 million, and Suicide Squad's 2.13 million. It also drew the highest Sunday ratings for HBO since 2014, drawing 1.6 million viewers in a rerun to beat out a replay of Fast & Furious 6.
Wonder Woman may not have gotten the kind of award recognition many had hoped for. But the movie is clearly one of the most popular releases of any genre to come along in the past few years, setting new commercial standards for the DC universe along the way. Vulture also noted that the viewing numbers don't include on-demand viewings or DVR recordings, so the movie's stats will end up being even higher when you factor those in. It's just the latest achievement for the crown jewel of a massive year for women in cinema.
Despite getting snubbed from the Oscars, Wonder Woman did win best stunt ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild awards. It also made the American Film Institute's top-10 movies of 2017, and the National Board of Review recognized Jenkins and Gadot with the Spotlight Award. Those are some very worthy accolades for one of the biggest hits of the year and one of the most triumphant superhero movies ever.
More: Wonder Woman Wasn't Snubbed At The Oscars
Source: Vulture
