'Birds of Prey' gets a new, much shorter title after opening weekend
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is no longer in theaters.
At least, not under that name. Following an underwhelming opening box office, Birds of Prey has been retitled for ticketing and listing purposes to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.
Despite generally positive reviews, the Margot Robbie vehicle earned only $33 million in U.S. ticket sales this weekend, making it the lowest performing film in the DC Extended Universe. Its predecessor, Suicide Squad, opened just shy of $134 million.
You May Also Like
Fans theorize the Fantabulous name was either too long, too confusing, or both, and may have contributed to the lackluster showing. Warner Bros. declined Mashable's request for comment.
As of Monday evening, AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas, and Atom Tickets have updated their sites and digital ticket apps. At the time of writing, Fandango was still using the unabbreviated title.
Changing a movie's title when its already in theaters is a rare and risky move. It can garner unwanted press, and negatively impact how audiences relate to a film. That's precisely why Doug Liman's 2014 film Edge of Tomorrow — retitled Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow for its home-release marketing — began trending as the Birds of Prey news broke. (The phrase "DC Edge of Tomorrow-ed it" was thrown around a lot.)
Whether the repackaging will help or hurt Harley's standalone adventure remains to be seen. That said, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey is still well on its way to turning a profit. And we liked it enough.
UPDATE: Feb. 11, 2020, 1:28 p.m. PST This article has been edited to reflect Warner Bros.' response to Mashable's request for comment.
