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 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.
"The marketing campaign was brilliant and the performances by
the cast, starting with Will Smith, Margot Robbie, and Jared
Leto were just extraordinary. They're fun and wicked and fans
enjoy it."
"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 their 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's a major disconnect with between what the critics are
saying and what audiences are seeing," said Goldstein.
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," the previous entry in DC
Comic's series of interconnected superhero films, was also a
critical piñata. It managed to overcome the bad notices to debut
to $166 million, but the poor word-of-mouth caught up to the
film in its second weekend, pushing receipts down by nearly 70%.
There are signs the hostile reviews are already hobbling
"Suicide Squad." The film dropped sharply on Saturday, falling
41% from its Friday numbers, although it should be said that
those grosses include Thursday pre-show results.
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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 isn't 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.
Production on the film was reportedly rushed with writer and
director David Ayer having less than two months to turn a script
around. The film centers on a team of super villains who are
recruited for a black ops mission by the U.S. government.
Men accounted for 54% of "Suicide Squad's" opening weekend audience,
with more than half of the audience clocking in under the age of 25.
Warner Bros. released the film across 4,255 locations. Imax
accounted for 381 of those venues, and the big screen company
comprised $11 million of the first weekend gross.
The weekend's other new release, EuropaCorp's "Nine Lives," died a
quick death. The story of a ruthless executive (Kevin Spacey) who
gets transformed into a cat, coughed up $6.5 million, and managed to
score even worse reviews than "Suicide Squad." Spacey barely
promoted the movie, which was the brainchild of former EuropaCorp
CEO Christophe Lambert, who originally envisioned the film as a
high-concept comedy before repositioning it as a family film. Ousted
from the company last February, Lambert died of lung cancer in May.
He was 51 years old. "Nine Lives" cost just over $30 million to
make.
Last weekend's champ, "Universal's Jason Bourne," dropped 62% in its
second frame, topping out at $22 million. That was strong enough for
a second place finish and brings the spy sequels domestic haul to
$103.4 million.
STX Entertainment's "Bad Moms" snagged third place in its second
weekend, picking up $14.2 million. The raunchy comedy about a group
of mothers who rebel against pressures to be perfect parents has
made $51 million since opening, a healthy return on its $20 million
budget. Universal's "The Secret Life of Pets" nabbed fourth place
with $11.6 million. The family comedy is one of the year's biggest
hits, having made $319.6 million during its run. Paramount's "Star
Trek Beyond" rounded out the top five, earning $10.2 million to push
its stateside gross to $127.9 million after three weeks.
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