'Suicide Squad' takes a nosedive at the box office
Suicide Squad's $465 million at the global box office might make Warner Bros. bean counters very happy, but audiences have had enough.
The DC Comics anti-hero action movie is on top in its second weekend at the domestic box office. But what a Pyrrhic victory it is, with a lowly $43.8 million take (estimated). That's down 67 percent from the movie's $133.7 million debut last weekend.
The big debut, coupled with a continuing strong performance overseas -- the estimated cumulative outside the U.S. is now at $242.5 million -- are keeping Suicide alive. But Warner Bros. is in an increasingly tough spot with its Hollywood investment in DC Comics.
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The studio has now struck out twice with fans in 2016 with its DC features. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice debuted in April, just like Suicide Squad. Its $166 million opening was followed by a 69.1 percent drop to $51.3 million in week two.
The dollar amounts might be large, but WB needs to consider the long game here.
BvS and Suicide Squad were supposed to get the DC Comics cinematic universe rolling. The early audience declines for both suggest that the geekier contingent of fans -- the group that drives repeat viewings -- is staying away.
That's bad news for a studio invested in a multi-year, multi-movie arc to rival Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe. For a true-blue DC fan, this continuing parade of big screen foul-ups must seem like some weird Bizarro World storyline.
The real winner for the weekend was Sony's animated R-rated comedy Sausage Party, from co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The raunchy "Toy Story but with food" adventure earned an estimated $33.6 million, good enough for #2, along with plenty of critical praise.
It's a counter-programming win in a week whose other big openers were a kid's movie (Pete's Dragon) and a comedy-drama biopic (Florence Foster Jenkins). Sausage can also thank floundering Suicide sales and Rogen/Goldberg's strong history with summer comedies (see also: Superbad, Pineapple Express) for its success.
Disney's had a killer year of family hits so far, with Zootopia, The Jungle Book and Finding Dory. The studio stumbled with Pete's Dragon, however, which claimed the #3 box office spot with an estimated $21.5 million.
Pete has a lower budget bar to clear -- a reported $65 million, versus more than $150 million for each of the other three -- and it's played well with critics. The calendar is also on Disney's side. Other summer 2016 family features are now a few weeks in the rearview, and Pete's Dragon faces almost no competition through August and September.
Topics Film
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
