'Suicide Squad' Has a Disappointing Theater Debut
by EG
The COVID pandemic rages on, and it's continuing to have a chilling effect on the movie-theater business. After a string of hopeful movie debuts in previous weeks, this week's lone wide release, The Suicide Squad, sold far fewer tickets than expected in theaters over a weekend marked by ever-increasing COVID cases. The movie debuted at the same time on HBO Max, giving viewers a chance to stay home and watch it. Read on for details.
The box office recovery took another hit as Warner Bros. and DC’s critical darling The Suicide Squad opened to a less-than-expected $26.5 million from 4,002 North American theaters amid challenges posed by the Delta variant and a hybrid theatrical-home launch.
The movie could claim one victory: it scored the top North American opening of the pandemic-era for an R-rated title.
Overseas — where COVID-19 is likewise on the rise in a number of territories — The Suicide Squad collected a muted $35 million from 71 markets for a foreign tally of $45.7 million and global take of $72.2 million.
James Gunn directed the standalone sequel about DC’s team of antiheroes featuring a cast led by Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney and Peter Capaldi.
Heading into the weekend, Warners was predicting a $30 million start in North American theaters. The film was made available simultaneously on HBO Max, a practice that many box office pundits say hurts theatrical releases.
The studio so far has not disclosed streaming viewership numbers for its 2021 slate of films, including the DC Cinematic Universe tentpole. However, HBO Max chief Andy Forssell revealed Sunday that Suicide Squad boasted the second-most viewed opening of any film premiering day-and-date on HBO Max. Sources say Mortal Kombat is No. 1, although no one is certain of the viewership tally.
“As the country faces new challenges due to the COVID variant, we’re happy to continue to offer fans the option of viewing movies in their homes,” the executive said. “Many chose to do just that as Suicide Squad emerged as the second most viewed film over an opening weekend on HBO Max since we began day-and-date releases with theaters.”
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