Wonder Woman has exceeded expectations and broken box office records worldwide - it's the highest grossing domestic superhero origin release ever, and the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman.
And beyond that - we finally see a female comic icon given her own movie.
But Oscar-winning director James Cameron has slated the film for being 'a step backwards' for female characters, and that Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is an 'objectified icon'.
Speaking to The Guardian, Cameron said: 'All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood's been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided.
'She's an objectified icon, and it's just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I'm not saying I didn't like the movie but, to me, it's a step backwards.'
Cameron - who is renowned for writing strong female leads - referred to his Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day character Sarah Connor as what a powerful female protagonist should be.
'Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon,' Cameron continued. 'She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit.
'And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!'
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has now hit back at Cameron's disparaging comments, and argued that there is 'no right and wrong kind of powerful woman'.
She also suggested that as a man, Cameron has no understanding of what Wonder Woman really means for women - as it was down to 'the massive female audience' that made the film the huge success that it has become.
In a post on Twitter, Jenkins wrote: 'James Cameron's inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman.
'Strong women are great. His praise for my film Monster, and our portrayal of a strong yet damaged woman was so appreciated.'
Jenkins also contended that women, like men, don't always have to be damaged or troubled to be 'strong'.
'But if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren't free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far have we,' she added.
"I believe women can and should be EVERYTHING just like male lead characters should be. There is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman. And the massive female audience who made the film a hit it is, can surely choose and judge their own icons of progress.'
A Wonder Woman sequel has been set by Warner Bros for December 2019.
Naomi Gordon is news writer mainly covering entertainment news with a focus on celebrity interviews and television.
