Wonder Woman shoots to top of UK and US box office

The new Wonder Woman film has shot straight to the top of the box office in the UK and the US.

The first standalone film about the superhero, starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, earned £6,180,000 in cinemas across the UK and Ireland in its opening weekend, to take the number one spot.

Director Patty Jenkins’s film took 103.1 million dollars (£79.7 million) in the US, the biggest opening for a movie directed by a woman.

Josh Berger, president and managing director of Warner Bros Entertainment UK, Eire and Spain, said: “Patty Jenkins and her talented cast and crew shot Wonder Woman in the UK and we’re glad to see the film connect in such a big way with movie-goers nationwide.”

Gadot plays Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in the movie, while Hollywood actor Chris Pine is her ally Steve Trevor.

Last week, Lebanese authorities banned the new Wonder Woman movie hours before it was due to premiere in the capital, following a campaign against its lead actress, Gal Gadot, who served in the Israeli army.

The ban is in accordance with a decades-old law that boycotts Israeli products and bars Lebanese citizens from travelling to Israel or having contacts with Israelis.