Can Atomic Blonde Outdo Wonder Woman at the Box Office?

It’s either very easy or very difficult to outdo a superhero movie. It will usually depend upon how the film is received by the public, who is starring in it, and of course, how much hype it can actually live up to. Both Wonder Woman and Atomic Blonde have been getting a great deal of hype leading up to their debut, but it is perhaps Wonder Woman that has more to live up to considering that the lead character is more widely known and has existed in popular culture for quite a bit longer. Plus, you know, Wonder Woman’s already crossed $700 million. There’s nothing to say that Charlize Theron’s new action film won’t turn heads and get people thinking that it might actually be a bigger hit, but there are also other considerations to think about when asking whether one movie will be able to top another.

Let’s discuss a few pertinent ideas about whether or not Atomic Blonde can really match up to Wonder Woman.

The action in both films is intense and entertaining.

Where Wonder Woman is more up front and in your face, Atomic Blonde is at times a little sneaky about what’s going to happen and leaves you guessing. So far with just the trailers to go by it seems that the lead character is still very much in your face and doesn’t pull punches, but unlike Wonder Woman she isn’t held back by a code that might otherwise prevent her from harming others with a bit of pleasure driving her forward. Both fight out of necessity, but in Atomic Blonde the desire to hurt seems a little more poignant.

Idealism is not necessarily a driving force in Atomic Blonde.

She’s out to do a job and get a little payback from those that have been trying to kill her and targeting those agents she’s been in contact with. There’s no code of conduct it seems, and anything goes. Wonder Woman on the other hand can’t seem to get it through her head, or else seems unwilling to believe, that her enemies will do anything necessary to get what they want, even if it means being as evil as they can possibly be. Her sense of idealism makes her seem quite naive and even a little childish at times, whereas Theron’s character is far more ruthless and doesn’t have any qualms about being just as ruthless as the bad guys.

Their methods are quite a bit different.

As a spy, the Atomic Blonde doesn’t really have a straightforward means of attack. She confuses, redirects, and when necessary extricates herself from danger with maximum force. Wonder Woman has one speed and one goal, and it all focuses on charging straight ahead and obliterating the target without concerning herself about anything else. That single-minded train of thought is pretty impressive, but it leaves her quite vulnerable in the film, and more than that, it lets her enemies see her coming from miles off, which gives them time to plan. Not that it did much good, but had Aries really planned ahead things could have gone much differently. Theron’s character is all about improvisation, planning, and working around the problem rather than charging at it head on.

So can the Atomic Blonde outdo Wonder Woman at the box office? It’s hard to say really when you consider that the films are quite different and tend to attract those with different interests. But it’s sure that Theron will give Wonder Woman a good run when it comes to ticket sales.