The Woman King Hits Big With 19M Box Office Debut
It is no surprise that The Woman King, a story of strength, women empowerment, and representation, has engrossed a whopping 19 million during its opening week at the box office.
Stories of powerful men have dominated the box office since its beginning in the 19th century. Films depicting knights, princes, and kings on noble quests to save their damsel in distress preserve the social norm of strength in masculinity. Often, women in these films are depicted as delicate beings who are too fickle to portray physical or mental strength.
The Woman King, directed by Gina-Price-Bythewood, succeeds in showing the masses a different side of femininity, through the pure ferocity that the Agojie women embodied. The Agojie soldiers were an all-women unit of soldiers tasked with protecting the African kingdom of Dahomey through the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the sole existence of an all-female soldier unit is awe-inspiring, it is how they ruled the region, with iron fists and fierce grace, that has made their existence especially relevant to 2022.
However, their prime can not be acknowledged without mentioning their involvement in human trafficking and slavery. According to historians, the Dahomey were vicious people known to kidnap other Africans and sell them into European captivity. The film focuses on a short period in their story where the Agojie women put up a resistance to their involvement.
The Women King might’ve won the year. I don’t think there’s EVER been a movie to portray Black Women like this and it being based on real History makes it that much more powerful. Got a little emotional seeing it ngl. Truly a Beautiful Film with great performances. 👸🏾✊🏽🗡️🎥
— ᴅᴀʏʟᴀɴ (@justdaylan) September 18, 2022
In the modern era, strength in feminine energy has only begun to be acknowledged on a wide scale. Although disparities between the equal treatment of men and women remain, there is also promise for future improvement. Unfortunately, in the past, many discrepancies arose with films inaccurately depicting the stories of dark-skinned Black women.
The industry is in dire need of a conceptual facelift on the variety of representation it allows. Hopefully, this will in turn afford more opportunity to all subgroups within minority groups, leaving no one overlooked. The Woman King sets an exceptional precedent for the standard we hope to see all films abide by, as it boasts a dark-skinned, Black, female-dominated lead cast. Evaluation of these happenings is a great way to gauge how stories like The Woman King can inspire positive change in our social values.
The women king literally was the best movie I’ve e seen all year I cried many times
— burna girl (@_kaiib) September 17, 2022
Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis (The First Lady) stars as General Nanisca, the leader of the Agojie women. In her career, Davis’s strength has actualized through her roster of roles in heavy hitters like The Help, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Fences. Furthermore, she has won an Oscar for her role as Rose Maxon in Fences and many other nominations for other roles. Davis has an affinity for using her talent to tell the story of other powerful women. This film is filled with other female powerhouses like Thuso Mbedu, Lashawna Lynch, Sheila Atim, and Jayme Lawson.
Many hope that this film will be the fire needed to wake the sleeping industry, with movie ticket sales down approximately 55% since 2019. According to Variety, the 19 million opening weekend debut was spearheaded by the ladies, with 61% of ticket buyers from Friday to Sunday.
Thus, the film is predicted to continue making strides at the box office in the coming weeks. Tickets can be purchased here, to further celebrate this timeless piece.
