The film took an estimated $20.5 million (£15.7 million) in Thursday preview showings in the U.S., a record for an August opening, according to studio estimates on Friday. Because of this, projections have increased to somewhere between $145-$150 million (the average tends to be around $146 million), which would be more than 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy (also an August release) and this February’s Deadpool.
Advertisement
Suicide Squad is lighting the box office on fire as evidenced by an estimated record-breaking opening weekend take of $147 million.
Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal: “In a word, Suicide Squad is trash”. Warner Bros. spent $175 million making the movie as part of its efforts to create an interlocking cinematic universe filled with DC superheroes, much like what Disney has achieved with the Marvel characters.
When he was searching for inspiration for his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, “Suicide Squad” star Jared Leto looked to the Thin White Duke. The beating that Ayer’s film took from critics, however, is inconsequential when compared to those who buy a ticket and sit down to watch the movie, and in that realm, Suicide Squad has been a robust success so far.
A small word of warning here – Batman v Superman also overcame its poor reviews to break the Easter Weekend box office record on its opening weekend, before suffering an 81% drop on its second weekend – the lowest for any comic book-inspired movie. However, it’s not expected to receive approval for entry into China due to its dark tone.
Advertisement
Rival studios are avoiding opening against “Suicide Squad” except for EuropaCorp’s family comedy “Nine Lives”, starring Kevin Spacey as a kitty cat. The other weekend opener, Barry Sonnenfeld’s Nine Lives, is looking at an abysmal $6-7 million weekend take now. STX Entertainment’s “Bad Moms”, which had a production budget of about $20 million, is expecting a strong hold into week two – it should earn about $14 million, with a 10-day total of over $50 million.
