‘Suicide Squad’ shows critics, viewers disconnect
The supervillain romp Suicide Squad shrugged off scathing reviews to open with an estimated $135.1 million in North American ticket sales, scoring one of the year’s biggest box-office debuts.
Pressure had risen on the performance of the Warner Bros. film, directed by David Ayer, following the studio’s previous poorly received DC Comics film, Batman v Superman: Dawn
of Justice. But Suicide Squad proved a massive draw despite its much-derided lead-in. It set a record for an August opening, easily besting Marvel’s 2014 hit
Guardians of the Galaxy, which debuted with $94.3 million.
Though the Warner Bros.-DC Comics alliance was again battered by bad reviews, Suicide Squad delivered at the box office.
“We learn as we go,” said Jeff Goldstein, head of distribution for Warner Bros. “We’ve fine-tuned our strategy in terms of who’s in charge and how we’re approaching all our DC films. We’re modifying it in an exciting way to make all the subsequent films as great
as possible.” Not everything was roses for Suicide
Squad, though, despite dominating the weekend. (The other new wide release, the feline animated release Nine Lives, debuted in sixth with a mere $6.5 million.) After fans flocked to theaters on Thursday night and Friday, audiences dropped steeply on Saturday. That could forecast further sharp declines in coming weeks for the $175 million film, which also came with a massive marketing budget.
Suicide Squad, starring Margot Robbie, Will Smith and Jared Leto, went into reshoots after the disappointment of Batman v Superman, and its marketing got a more comic, punk vibe that clicked with fans. But the film was derided as a mess by critics and others questioned the movie’s PG-13 rating considering its high degree of violence.
Audiences liked it better. Opening weekend crowds gave it a B-plus on CinemaScore.
“The elephant in the room is that the reviews were harsh,” Goldstein said. “Clearly there’s disconnect between audiences and critics.”
The Suicide Squad debut also gave Smith, long one of the movies’ top draws, the biggest opening of his career. (Second is 2007’s I Am Legend with $77.2 million).