How One Box Office Flop Changed Female Superhero Movies for Years

For years, the superhero movie landscape has been dominated by familiar faces and formulas, but few realize just how tough it ’s been to break new ground—especially when it comes to stories led by women. Long before the Marvel craze hit its peak in the 2020s, audiences were hungry for more of these larger-than-life tales. Studios, however, only jumped in when they saw the massive profits and the chance to build sprawling franchises that could reach viewers around the world.

Yet, even as the genre exploded, there was a clear pattern: most of these blockbusters centered on male heroes, with women often relegated to supporting roles or side plots. When female superheroes did get their own movies, it was usually after endless debates behind closed doors about whether such a project could actually succeed.

Studio Doubts and Past Failures

One of the biggest obstacles wasn’t just skepticism about audience interest—it was the memory of previous attempts that had crashed and burned. Studios had seen female-led superhero films flop before, often due to bad timing, weak scripts, or lackluster marketing. These failures made executives nervous about greenlighting similar projects in the future.

Patty Jenkins, the director who would eventually bring Wonder Woman to theaters, knew these challenges all too well. She had watched as earlier efforts struggled to get off the ground, and she understood how hard it was to convince decision-makers to take a chance on something unproven.

Overcoming the Shadow of Catwoman and Elektra

In a conversation with Glamour, Jenkins explained how the shadow of past disappointments loomed large over her own project.

“They were all freaked out by all the female superhero films that had failed, the smaller ones that had failed,”

she recalled.

“Also, Christopher Nolan was making the Dark Knight thing, so I think they were just trying to figure out what they were doing with DC at that time.”

Movies like 2004’s Catwoman, starring Halle Berry, and 2005’s Elektra had both underperformed, making it even harder for Jenkins to get Wonder Woman off the ground. She described how the project was pulled in different directions as studios wrestled with their own doubts and tried to find a new approach.

“Even when I first joined Wonder Woman, it was like, ‘Uhh, yeah, OK, but let’s do it this other way,’”

Jenkins said.

“But I was like, ‘Women don’t want to see that. Her being harsh and tough and cutting people’s heads off…. I’m a Wonder Woman fan, that’s not what we’re looking for.’ Still, I could feel that shaky nervousness [on their part] from my point of view.”

Jenkins’ Vision and the Turning Point

Jenkins faced an uphill battle, especially since the project had already stumbled under a previous director. But eventually, the studio gave her the chance to do things her way. She took the risk, stuck to her vision, and delivered a film that finally proved a female superhero could lead a blockbuster.