‘The Suicide Squad’ On Pace for $25 Million Opening Weekend

Warner Bros’ “The Suicide Squad” is falling behind box office projections this weekend, earning $12.1 million on Friday from 4,002 screens to earn an estimated $25 million opening weekend.

Prior to the weekend, James Gunn’s R-Rated DC film had been projected for a $30 million opening, close to the $31 million launch seen last month for fellow Warner release “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and the $33 million earned by DC’s “Birds of Prey” in February 2020.

Like all Warner Bros. films, “The Suicide Squad” has also been released on HBO Max at no extra charge, and it is difficult at this point to determine how much the film’s performance is being affected by that streaming availability and by other factors like its R rating — though Warner Bros. has found record-breaking R-Rated hits prior to the pandemic with “It” and “Joker.”

The good news is that unlike the 2016 “Suicide Squad,” reception has been very positive. While the film received a B+ CinemaScore grade — same as the first “Suicide Squad” as audiences over 35 weighed down the grade — Rotten Tomatoes scores stand at 92% critics and 87% audience with a 4/5 on Postrak. The previous “Suicide Squad,” by contrast, had a score of 26% critics and 59% audience. If this strong reception leads to positive word of mouth, the film could avoid a substantial Friday-to-Saturday drop.

More to come…

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