9 Female-Led Films No One Should Be Surprised Were a Box Office Smash

With Patty Jenkins's record-breaking Wonder Woman as the summer's highest-grossing film and Girls Trip breaking out as a July critical and commercial success, many are shocked that female-led films are killing it. They shouldn't be. Women, who according to the Motion Picture Association of America are the majority of moviegoers, are flocking to see stories that reflect them -- and have been for years.

Although Wonder Woman's $779 million foreign and domestic gross (so far) truly is wondrous, it's not the only woman-led film that has fought to the top of the box office. Here are nine other blockbuster films or franchises with female protagonists, along with their worldwide grosses.

Gone Girl (2014)
Gross: $369.3 million

Based on a best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn (who also penned the Oscar-nominated screenplay), this thriller starred Rosamund Pike as the ever-elusive Amy. Exploring how far a manipulative woman would go to take down her cheating husband, the film was a critical and commercial success.

Sex and the City (2008)
Gross: $415.3 million

When the classic show led by four female friends (whose truest loves are each other) hit the big screen, it made an enormous splash.

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Gross: $571 million

With source material by E.L. James, a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, and direction from Sam Taylor-Johnson, the salacious movie was made by women for women. The Dakota Johnson-led film remains one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies ever.

Gravity (2013)
Gross: $723.2 million

Sandra Bullock's dive through space was an Academy Award-winning technical achievement that also had a stellar box office run.

Maleficent (2014)
Gross: $758.5 million

Angelina Jolie's step into the Disney universe was definitely a commercial leap. Linda Woolverton, who penned the 1991 version of Beauty and the Beast, wrote the screenplay.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Gross: $1.025 billion

This flick was another reimagining of a classic anchored by a Linda Woolverton screenplay. Mia Wasikowska's journey into Wonderland and battle with queens Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter was a work of ticket-selling magic.

The Twilight Saga (2008-2012)
Gross: $3.3 billion

The adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's young-adult novels about a girl with a sexual preference for magical bad boys had a supernatural record at the box office. The Kristen Stewart-led films were so successful that Summit Entertainment, the small studio with the rights, was snapped up by Lionsgate.

The Hunger Games Series (2012-2015)
Gross: $3 billion

Jennifer Lawrence's superstar-making role left an astounding footprint, with multiple movies that were the highest-grossing films of the year. Also, it doesn't hurt that the films were based on novels by Suzanne Collins.

Frozen (2013)
Gross: $1.3 billion

The astounding animated flick that told the story of two sisters who reject marriage, voiced by Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell, was co-directed by Jennifer Lee, who also wrote the screenplay. With just one film, Frozen grossed within the same ballpark as entire franchises and launched an enormous merchandizing cash cow. Plus, Lee is just getting started. She wrote Ava Duvernay's upcoming A Wrinkle in Time and is attached as the writer-director of Frozen 2.