Director: 'Wonder Woman' a 'hero' for all

Patty Jenkins -- the director of the blockbuster movie "Wonder Woman" -- says her protagonist is a "hero for everybody,"

"I love what that is meaning for women," Jenkins told anchor Chris Cuomo on "New Day." on Wednesday "I'm so excited to inspire all sorts of people the way all sorts of heroes have inspired."

The longtime popular character has been a pop-culture mainstay. Jenkins says she embodies love, justice, kindness and independent thinking..

"Since the beginning of time we've told stories through universal characters," Jenkins said. "Recently we've, for some reason, only chosen men to be those universal characters so often."

' "Wonder Woman,' she said, "is for everybody."

"She doesn't want to bring any darkness to the world," she said.

A smash hit

"Wonder Woman," the latest film from Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe, exceeded expectations at the box office, bringing in $103.1 million for its opening weekend in North America.

The film became the biggest opening ever for a female director, edging out "Fifty Shades of Grey" by just over $17 million.

It is the first major superhero film to be led by a woman and the women who flocked to the film helped it reach the top of the box office last weekend.

About 52% of the film's audience this weekend were female, a significant number for a genre that has been dominated by men.

The box office haul for the female superhero icon is smaller than the box office numbers of some of her caped male counterparts.

But the opening weekend for "Wonder Woman" is an achievement for female filmmakers and for the industry, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore.

"Any ridiculous notion that a woman may not be suited to direct a big budget superhero movie is hopefully once and for all shattered," he said.

Warner Bros., like CNN, is owned by Time Warner (TWX)