As a film, Suicide Squad was a disappointment (at least for me). Its box office perspectives, however, are looking appropriately extraordinary. The DC adaptation, taking Guardians of the Galaxy‘s coveted first weekend of August, opened to an astounding $135.1 million. That’s the highest August opening ever, but it’s not all good news for the anti-superhero blockbuster.
David Ayer’s latest has weathered bad reviews, tepid word-of-mouth and controversy surrounding its production this week, and that’s begun taking its toll on its performance. After earning an amazing $65 million on Friday, pundits were predicting a $145-150 million opening. But it dropped 41 percent between Friday and Saturday, which can also be said for The Dark Knight Rises, but that film was also impacted by the Aurora tragedy.
With $132 million earned overseas, Suicide Squad currently has $267.1 million to its name, which is certainly pretty good. But it has a few more snags in its future, including a no-go from China, where Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice apparently performed very well. It’ll be interesting to see how Ayer’s film holds its own in the weeks to come. I predict it’s all downhill after its stellar debut.
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Speaking of going downhill, Jason Bourne came in second place with $22.7 million, tumbling 62 percent. Its domestic total surpassed the $100 million mark with $103.4 million, but that’s a far bigger drop than previous Bourne films. However, that might solely be because it was going up against the mammoth that was Suicide Squad. Overseas, it’s still holding its own with $195.4 million in its global cume. We’ll see how it ultimately ranks against the other Bourne films in the weeks to come.
This weekend’s only other wide release was Nine Lives, the feline-friendly family comedy-adventure that inexplicably stars Kevin Spacey. It came in sixth place with underwhelming $6.5 million for EuroCorp, which isn’t necessarily un-purr-dictable.
*waits for the crickets to die down*
This one kinda came in under the radar, and it was met with little fanfare. With a budget estimated around $30 million, it won’t be impossible to gain its money back, but it looks like Nine Lives is going to die just as quickly as it lived.
As for pet movies that are actually doing pretty well, The Secret Life of Pets came in fourth place with an extra $11.6 million added to its incredible $319.6 million domestic total. Overseas, the film earned an extra $68.6 million, which makes its worldwide total a staggering $502.2 million. It makes sense why Illumination went ahead and greenlit that sequel for 2018. This one is making straight bank.
Rounding out the weekend, Star Trek Beyond came in fifth place with $10.3 million, making its domestic total a respectable $127.9 million during its third weekend (Note: I still need to see this one). Meanwhile, Bad Moms held onto third place with $14.2 million added to its $51 million domestic gross. This one already crossed into the black last week, however, so now it’s in straight profit territory.
Check out the full box office report, via THR and Box Office Mojo, below.
- Suicide Squad Weekend: $135.1 million Domestic Total: $135.1 million
- Jason Bourne Weekend: $22.7 million Domestic Total: $103.4 million
- Bad Moms Weekend: $14.2 million Domestic Total: $51 million
- The Secret Life of Pets Weekend: $11.6 million Domestic Total: $319.6 million
- Star Trek Beyond Weekend: $10.2 million Domestic Total: $127.9 million
- Nine Lives Weekend: $6.5 million Domestic Total: $6.5 million
- Lights Out Weekend: $6 million Domestic Total: $54.7 million
- Nerve Weekend: $4.9 million Domestic Total: $26.9 million
- Ghostbusters Weekend: $4.8 million Domestic Total: $116.7 million
- Ice Age: Collision Course Weekend: $4.3 million Domestic Total: $53.5 million
