The Suicide Squad Box Office Unlikely To Surpass 2016 Film’s Opening Day

The Suicide Squad‘s lifetime box office gross is unlikely to surpass the 2016 Suicide Squad’s opening day. Warner Bros.’ first go-around with the Suicide Squad property came in 2016 when David Ayer directed the film that introduced the world to Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. Despite promising trailers, the film was ultimately trashed by critics and audiences for its clunky narrative and the fact it lacked an R-rated approach, and Ayer himself shared how his cut was altered by studio interference. However, despite the poor reception, the intriguing promotional materials led to the film becoming a box hit, with an opening of $133.7 million before finishing out its run with a worldwide total of $746.8 million.

The tale of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad has been a very different one when compared to the 2016 film. Gunn was given creative freedom to create his sequel/mostly-reboot of the Suicide Squad, and the film has received rave reviews, currently sitting on a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score. However, after setting a box office record for R-rated films during its preview screenings, The Suicide Squad grossed a disappointing $12.1 million on its opening day. It then had the second-lowest DCEU opening weekend with $26.5 million, falling short of its projected $30 million opening. Many factors are said to have played a part in its poor opening, including the Delta variant, and it appears things aren’t looking up for Gunn’s Suicide Squad.

Film industry analyst, Gitesh Pandya, tweeted the latest update of The Suicide Squad’s declining box office numbers by writing that the film has reportedly “plunged 81%” on its second Friday, which Pandya writes is “among the largest drops for any film all year.” Even more surprisingly, Pandya writes that the ten-day collection of the film should stand at around $42 million, and its lifetime gross will likely not even surpass the $64.9 million opening day of Ayer’s Suicide Squad. Pandya’s full tweet can be seen below:

The fact Gunn’s The Suicide Squad may not even surpass the 2016 film’s $64.9 million opening has to be a big disappointment for Warner Bros., as the film has seemingly ticked all the boxes when it comes to correcting the mistakes made with the original’s story. Also, considering the big drops of Black Widow and Space Jam: A New Legacy, and the fact Gunn’s film is available on HBO Max (for free) as well, a considerable box office drop was expected. However, an 81% Friday to Friday drop on top of a weak opening is a big surprise when considering the film’s early projections. In addition to the Delta variant and its release on HBO Max, experts have cited its unclear marketing, R-rating, and lack of familiar faces/characters, like Jared Leto’s Joker and Will Smith’s Deadshot, as the reason the film has seemingly failed at the box office.

Hollywood received a boost with releases like A Quiet Place 2 and F9 showing signs that the box office was slowly returning to normal, but The Suicide Squad has unfortunately hit theatres, at a time the Delta variant is deterring audiences from going out to watch a film. The Suicide Squad did, however, become the second biggest HBO Max release (behind Mortal Kombat), so it’s difficult to assess exactly how Warner Bros. will ultimately judge the financial success of their latest attempt at the DC ensemble film. But regardless of that fact, one would imagine The Suicide Squad’s lifetime domestic gross failing to surpass Suicide Squad’s opening day will be deemed a failure in Warner Bros.’ eyes.