“Young Australians (aged 6-13) have nominated Wonder Woman as their favourite superhero in 2018 with the DC Comics superhero overtaking stablemate Batman in the last two years,” says Roy Morgan CEO, Michelle Levine.
Wonder Woman’s popularity more than doubled over the past two years (up by 192,000 to 368,000) following the release of the box office smash hit which brought in over $US820 million in 2017 and was the seventh highest grossing movie worldwide.
Director Patty Jenkins was praised for creating a “masterpiece of subversive feminism”– celebrating a female superhero as a film’s protagonist for the first time since 1984. A heroine with superhuman strength, resilience and empathy as her true power.
A valuable role model for young girls and boys navigating a modern world.
Surely, the sweeping popularity of Wonder Woman should be proof enough for Comic juggernauts–Marvel and DC– to anchor more films with female characters?
“The huge success for Wonder Woman, which grossed $25 million at the Australian box office in 2017, augurs well for Marvel’s own female-centred superhero film Captain Marvel which is set to be released early in the New Year,” says Levine.
Let’s hope the tide is turning for good.