As far as Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe is concerned, the super villain team-up Suicide Squad is quickly proving itself to be the little superhero flick that could. Late last month, the film was tracking at an impressive $125 million opening weekend take. That would put it on pace to be one of the biggest debuts of the year, and for a film packed with recognizable stars in not-so recognizable roles, it would mean landing about $40 million shy of the studio’s early summer superhero slugfest, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.
That kind of estimated take is not surprising, as, once again the film does star the likes of Will Smith, Academy Award winner Jared Leto, Emmy Winner Viola Davis, Margot Robbie, and more. It’s the sort of marketable cast that studio execs dream about, especially when the names are attached to a superhero property that already promises a cameo from Ben Affleck’s Batman, meaning the movie has a gooey cinematic universe baked right into its crust. What that means is, some analysts are now tracking the film’s opening weekend well above the purported $125 million take to something closer to $140 million.
If Squad were to hit the $140 million mark, that would see it beat the opening weekend of the current domestic box office champ Finding Dory, which opened up at $135 million, and has since gone on to rake in an impressive $469 million in the U.S. alone. Beating Dory would mean Suicide Squad would take the third highest-grossing opening of the year. It’s worth noting, however, that although projections are rosy for the film at the moment, those numbers are rising ahead of the film’s advance screenings for critics. Poor reviews could see the film’s projected take slip back toward the more conservative estimate of $125 million – which is, of course, still an astronomical sum and nothing to sneeze at.
Whatever the film’s final weekend tally is, it’s likely that the numbers owe a lot to the team working to keep the buzz alive and the hype building since, well, Comic-Con 2015. The relative ease of Suicide Squad‘s marketing aside, the folks behind the film’s trailers and advertisements didn’t lack for imagination. The film still boasts some of the grooviest trailers seen this year, especially the trailer released way back in January – the one set to Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ that managed to permanently alter the conversation surrounding the film. Since then, David Ayer’s vision of the dark underbelly of the DC Extended Universe appeared to be remarkably light and effervescent despite being filled with characters who wield guns, bats, teeth, and boomerangs, all for personal gain.
All that is to say, Suicide Squad may be looking at a record-breaking opening weekend thanks in part to some sharp trailers and a stellar cast, but the real question is whether or not the movie has the sort of staying power that will push it into the black and beyond; the kind of profit that justifies the potentially “infinite” sequels and spinoffs Warner Bros. is hoping for.
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Suicide Squad is scheduled to arrive in theaters on August 5, 2016; Wonder Woman is slated for release onJune 2, 2017; followed by Justice League on November 17, 2017; Aquaman on July 27, 2018; an untitled DC Film on October 5, 2018; Shazam on April 5, 2019; Justice League 2 on June 14, 2019; an untitled DC film on November 1, 2019; Cyborg on April 3, 2020; and Green Lantern Corps on July 24, 2020. The Flash is currently without a release date.
