Will 'Birds of Prey' Rule the Box Office?
by EG
Suicide Squad spinoff Birds of Prey is heading into theaters this week with hopes of continuing the comicbook-movie success of Joker. But with an all-female leading cast and minus the cynical fetishization of violence that charmed Joker audiences, does Birds of Prey have a chance of being commercially successful? It's debuting with significantly better reviews than Joker received, but that might not be enough. Read on for details.
Via Deadline.
Warner Bros.’ R-rated Suicide Squad DC spinoff Birds of Prey is eyeing an estimated $4M-$5M in previews tonight, according to industry estimates.
Although much lower than such R-rated superhero fare as Joker ($13.3M), Deadpool ($12.7M) and Logan ($9.5M), Birds of Prey is more female-skewing. Hopefully the under 25 female set, which is known to head to the multiplex in packs at the last minute, can raise business upward. Birds of Prey expands to 4,236 locations Friday.
Birds of Prey‘s preview numbers currently are just under Shazam‘s $5.9M Thursday — it was rated PG-13 and had early shows that began at 4 p.m. — and right around Warner Bros.’ R-rated 2009 feature adaptation of DC’s Watchmen ($4.5M), which was back when previews started at midnight.
While tracking largely has the domestic start between $50M-$55M, Warners was spotting $45M, and the more sources I speak with, the more they think the Margot Robbie movie will open in the upper $40M range. On the plus side, Birds of Prey has a great Rotten Tomatoes score of 86% Certified Fresh, significantly higher than the PG-13 Suicide Squad (27% Rotten in 2016) and not far from Wonder Woman (93% Certified Fresh in 2017). Birds of Prey has the advantage of higher-priced cinema formats including PLFs, Dolby, Imax, and 4DX Motion Seats.
Sundance Film Festival world cinema winner Cathy Yan directed Birds of Prey off a script by Christina Hodson. Robbie reprises her Suicide Squad role as punk girl crook Harley Quinn. In the wake of breaking up with her boyfriend, the Joker, she gets involved in a caper to recover a diamond that’s been pickpocketed by a young girl. She’s a wanted person by kingpin Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), but Harley teams with a motley crew of femmes — Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and cop Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) to save her.
Get the rest of the story at Deadline.
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