Suicide Squad smashed records, scoring a colossal $135.1 million debut despite suffering some of the worst reviews of the year.
That sets a new high-water mark for an August launch, lapping Guardians of the Galaxy’s $94.3 million bow. It also ranks as a new personal best for star Will Smith, trumping I Am Legend’s $77.2 million debut in 2007.
The action spectacle is also resonating with foreign crowds. Suicide Squad earned $132 million overseas from 57 territories, bringing its global total to more than $267 million.
“It bested anything that we could have expected,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros distribution executive vice president.
Suicide Squad has been one of the most hotly anticipated films of the summer. Buzz on the film has built steadily since Warner Bros released a teaser trailer at last year’s Comic-Con that highlighted Jared Leto’s grill-sporting Joker and Margot Robbie looking demented in pigtails as Harley Quinn. However, the studio was caught off guard by the fusillade of withering reviews and there were concerns that the poor reception would dampen the opening numbers.
And boy were those reviews awful. The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern called the film “...an all-out attack on the whole idea of entertainment”. New York’s David Edelstein branded it “the worst of the worst” and MTV’s Amy Nicholson dismissed the picture as “two hours of padding”.
Audiences appeared to like the film better than critics, handing the film a B+ CinemaScore. Younger consumers appear to like the film better than older moviegoers, with audiences under the age of 18 giving it an A rating. The question is will Suicide Squad show some endurance?
There are signs the reviews are already hobbling Suicide Squad. The film dropped sharply on Saturday, falling 41 per cent from Friday numbers, although it should be said that those grosses include Thursday pre-show results.
The studio has a lot riding on Suicide Squad. It spent $175 million making the picture, including tens of millions on reshoots. But the cost is not the only concern.
DC is struggling to generate the same level of excitement for its stable of Batman, Superman and other Justice League fixtures that Marvel has managed to stoke for its movies about costumed avengers. It needs more of its films to be beloved as well as financially successful.