Wonder Woman is about to set a box office record

Let's start with this: Wonder Woman is going to set a box office record after this weekend’s receipts are counted.

The record takes some explaining, but it's going to do the most box office business, globally, of any live-action movie directed by a woman (Patty Jenkins). Estimates put Wonder Woman at $621.3 million since its premiere three weeks ago. The old record was held by Phillida Lloyd, who directed Mamma Mia!, which premiered in 2008.

That film, an adaptation of the 2001 Broadway musical by the same name, earned $609.8 million over a nearly four-month run. If you're wondering why this has to be qualified as "live action," that's because 2013's animated smash Frozen, directed by Jennifer Lee (and Chris Buck) did $1.27 billion worldwide, ninth place all time.

Just two DC Comics superhero flicks, 2008's The Dark Knight and 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, did $1 billion globally, neither making the top ten, so it seems unlikely that Wonder Woman could take the overall title, but who knows.

Kung Fu Panda 2, directed by Jennifer Yu Nelson, is the second-highest grossing film directed by a woman, making $665.7 million worldwide in 2011. That mark seems more in reach for Wonder Woman.

Warner Brothers and DC are probably happy to have a superhero movie doing this well, critically and commercially, regardless of who directed it. But it’s a nice feather in the cap for both the film and its maker.