A recent survey by Roy Morgan, found that 394,000 children picked Wonder Woman as their favourite superhero in 2018. This figure rose by 137, 000 in one year.
The growth in her popularity comes after the box office smash film Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot, that was released in 2017. The spectacularly successful film has become the highest grossing superhero origin film of all time. Its sequel, Wonder Woman 1984 is set for release in 2020.
The Wonder Woman character has surpassed the previous favourite Batman, who was picked by 282,000 children. Batman, who ran second, is on the decline, down 54,000 from the previous year. Batman was followed by Spiderman and Superman.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wonder Woman’s greatest supporters are young girls. 383, 000 young girls picked Wonder Woman over any other superhero in 2018.
The female superhero is yet to win over the boys, with only 11, 000 of them nominating Wonder Woman as their favourite. Despite this number for boys being low, it has more than doubled in the past year.
Australia’s Top Superheroes: Wonder Woman on top and Captain Marvel one to watch. Wonder Woman is again Australia’s favourite superhero for kids aged 6-13yrs old picked by 394,000 Aussie kids. #IWD2019 #RealWomenAreLeaders #EmpoweringWomen #FutureisFemale https://t.co/xQeb0zbwS6 pic.twitter.com/wSaXMOPpeV
— Roy Morgan (@roymorganonline) March 7, 2019
Michele Levin, CEO of Roy Morgan, says Wonder Woman’s appeal as a leading superhero is growing and with Captain Marvel being released, female-centred superhero films are a new growth area.
“In lieu of Wonder Woman’s success at the box office rival Marvel Studios has upped their game and this week marks the introduction of a new Female superhero named Captain Marvel,” Levin said.
“Captain Marvel has not yet appeared as a favourite superhero for Aussie kids but if the movie can enjoy half the success of Wonder Woman we expect to see a new female superhero gaining the support of Australian kids in the years to come.”
Initial reports indicate that Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson, is already surpassing box office expectations, with reports indicating it has raked in $646 million in its first weekend. After only 4 days, it is already the third highest grossing film for the year in Australia.