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Why Birds of Prey Misfired In Opening Weekend Box Office Explained by Experts
After scoring the lowest opening for any DC film in over a decade, including the lowest DCEU opening, box office experts have given their explanation as to why Birds of Prey misfired at the box office. Since Justice League disappointed at the box office in 2017, Warner Bros. has seen an upswing with DC projects. Aquaman scored big grossing over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, as did the R-rated Joker, which was the most profitable comic book movie ever. Even Shazam! was a successful venture due to its smaller budget. Despite already having moderate expectations for its box office opening, Birds of Prey was expected to continue the good fortune at the box office, but that’s not been the case thus far.
Harley Quinn’s return to the big screen was a big deal, as she was a universally appreciated character in the heavily criticized Suicide Squad film. Surprisingly, her return was in the lesser-known comic book tale, Birds of Prey, instead of the rumored Gotham City Sirens. The film, which director Cathy Yan repeatedly said is not a “Harley Quinn Movie,” focuses on a group of female characters, not just Quinn. On top of that, it’s the first DCEU film that is R-rated. Birds of Prey has received a tremendous amount of praise from critics and audiences since its release, unfortunately, the box office collections have been even worse than expected. Birds of Prey grossed $33.2 million domestically in its first three days, a total that is over $20 million lower than Shazam’s $53.5 million. Now, box office experts have given their take on why Birds of Prey is having so much trouble bringing in the numbers for Warner Bros.
In a piece by Variety, box office analyst Jeff Bock and social media analyst Paul Dergarabedian commented on the box office performance of Yan’s comic book film. “They took a swing, and they missed,” Bock said. He elaborated that it “wasn’t for the move masses, it was a niche comic-book movie.” Bock also highlighted the film’s full title, Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was a mistake as he said it should have focused on Robbie’s Quinn. “Not naming it ‘Harley Quinn'” was a “misfire” by Warner Bros. In addition to this, the article pointed to the R-rating preventing “younger fans of Harley Quinn from buying movie tickets.” According to Dergarabedian, when “new films that offer little in terms of direct competition” release in the coming days and this weekend, “in what will be admittedly be a very crowded theatrical marketplace,” this will prove to be the “true test” for Birds of Prey’s box office metal.
The points made in the article are certainly valid, because despite the heavy focus on Harley Quinn in the film’s marketing, where she’s been front and center for almost everything, it wasn’t a “Harley Quinn Movie.” The title tells us that, and the fact she’s with lesser-known characters likely hurt the film's appeal as well. Also, artistically, it’s understandable why Robbie and the team wanted an R-rating for the film, but it’s not hard to spot the number of kids that adore Robbie’s Quinn character.
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see whether the film falls in the list of box office successes, or failures for Warner Bros. If Birds of Prey does ultimately disappoint, here’s hoping Gunn’s Suicide Squad reignites the Quinn fanfare, and future projects learn from some of the mistakes this film may have made, and maybe this means Gotham City Sirens will be the next story for Harley Quinn post-Suicide Squad.
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