Wonder Woman has only been in theaters for a couple of weeks now, but the movie has already made a boatload of money, and men and women have flocked to see the movie in theaters all over the world. While the movie has done well, it was a little controversial during its first week of release, when the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain opted to host a few Ladies Only event screenings of the movie. Because it became a hotly debated thing, one interviewer asked Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins how she felt about the screenings, and she had quite a lot to say. Here are her feelings on the matter:
I actually have sort of mixed feelings about all of that only because I do believe in not excluding anyone from anything. And so, on the one hand, I'm so delighted by those screenings and want people to be able to have those screenings. On the other hand, I can imagine being offended if I'm excluded from those screenings, particularly because Wonder Woman herself has a very, very passionate fan base, many of whom are men.
That's a comment that really toes the line between taking a side, something Patty Jenkins has had to do a lot as the first female director of a superhero film. She told The Frame that she really can see both sides of the issues. As a fun event, the ladies only screenings sounded great to her, but she can also see how male fans of the movie may have felt excluded.
Female-led movies have sometimes had trouble getting men into theaters, and that's actually one thing that Wonder Woman has done really well. The breakdown for Wonder Woman in terms of demographics has been 52% women and 48% men, and while the female viewers do trump the male ones in those numbers, they are very close, which means men nearly as often wanted to see Wonder Women as their female friends, partners, and peers.
Patty Jenkins also mentioned in the interview that being inclusive was something she was working toward with her movie. She wanted Wonder Woman to be for everyone, and she wouldn't want any men to feel like they couldn't enjoy her movie. But that comes with a caveat. She also really wants women to feel like they have a win in Wonder Woman, a superhero movie made by and about a woman.
And many of whom are men who are disenfranchised from their own gender or their own identity. And I would never want to leave them out of anything, you know? I could switch to either side of the argument, but I certainly think it's wonderful... there have not been that many female-skewed things and certainly there have been many, many male. So, I celebrate that.
Clearly some dudes were really mad about the screenings. One law professor even went so far as to file a formal complaint about the screenings, even though he didn't live in the state or city that actually put them on. So, there definitely has been a mixed response. Now that the screenings are over, you can still catch Wonder Woman in theaters all over the world, and one thing is clear: whether you are female or male, Patty Jenkins does want you to catch the movie.
