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Have female superheroes historically performed as well at the box office as their male counterparts?

Wednesday, April 14, 2021
By Lisa Freedland
NO

While some recent superhero movies with female leads posted box-office gross receipts on par with some male-led films, the biggest hits more typically feature male superheroes or a team of superheroes. Of the top 15 earning superhero films released since 1995, two have female leads: “Captain Marvel” (2019), ranking 13th at $427 million and “Wonder Woman” (2017), ranking 14th at $412 million. In 2019, “Avengers: Endgame” earned more than those two releases combined.

Still, those tallies mark gains from decades past. “Catwoman” (2004), for example, made $82 million worldwide, and “Elektra” (2005) made almost $57 million worldwide. By comparison, “Spiderman” (2002) and “Spiderman 2” (2004) made around $400 million and $370 million.

“Batwoman,” a 2019 TV series based on the DC comic character, is struggling to garner viewership amid poor reviews. It is rated 3.2 out of ten by IMDb users.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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