It's a great time to be a superhero movie fan right now. Gone are the days when you only had to look forward to one of these movies coming out each year or even missing out on them altogether, as select studios are releasing numerous superhero tales across the board. However, with these increased numbers also comes the elevation of DC and Marvel's competitive rivalry. Both companies have already left their distinctive marks on the 2017 summer blockbuster season, but in terms of commercial performance in the United States, DC will come out the victor, as Wonder Woman is poised to soar past Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Wonder Woman has racked up a lot of money since it was released in theaters at the beginning of June, and Deadline reports that by this weekend, it will have made more than $387 million domestically. That makes Diana of Themyscira's standalone story the highest-grossing domestic movie of the summer, and the second-highest grossing domestic movie of 2017 behind Beauty and the Beast, which collected $504 million in the U.S. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which came out at the beginning of May, has made over $386 million domestically; a worthy haul, but now Wonder Woman has edged it out. The MCU's other summer release, Spider-Man: Homecoming, has so far made over $220 million domestically.
It is worth noting that when looking at worldwide gross, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 still has Wonder Woman beat with nearly $860 million over nearly $768 million. That said, since Wonder Woman hasn't been in theaters for as long as the Guardians sequel, there's still time for the fourth DCEU installment to rise to the top across the world, too.
While Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were both commercial hits for Warner Bros and DC last year, respectively making $330 million and $325 million domestically, Marvel's Captain America: Civil War was that summer's live action winner, making $408 million domestically. 2017 sees the tables turning in DC's favor, and while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman have both earned positive reviews from critics and regular moviegoers alike, the latter has enjoyed more attention for not just being the best critically received entry of the DCEU so far, but also as the first critical and commercially successful female-led superhero movie. Wonder Woman has also scored points for being the high-grossing live action movie made by a female director. All this being said, whether you liked Wonder Woman more than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 or vice-versa, superhero movie fans can at least take comfort in the fact that in a year peppered with box office failures, these two are among the shining successes.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is winding down its theatrical run, and it will be released on Digital HD August 8 and on Blu-ray/DVD August 22. Wonder Woman is still going strong in theaters, but no home media release date has been announced yet. Diana will also return on November 17 for Justice League.
