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James Gunn’s latest DC superhero film, ‘The Suicide Squad,’ which is a sequel to the 2016 film, is well-received with a 91% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 84% audience score. Despite these high ratings, the movie did not perform as expected at the box office, especially in the current circumstances.
‘The Suicide Squad’ earned around $26.5 million at the North American box office last weekend, totaling $72.2 million globally. While this isn’t a failure, it fell short of the projected $30 million domestic box office revenue. Several factors contributed to this underperformance.
One major factor is the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The film was released during a surge in cases driven by the delta variant, causing hesitancy among moviegoers to spend time in crowded theaters.
The Suicide Squad won the domestic box office this weekend with an underwhelming $26.5 million, which may have been the result of the film’s day-and-date release on HBO Max and the rising concern of COVID-19’s Delta variant. pic.twitter.com/u21XTifdaF
— IGN (@IGN) August 8, 2021
Another contributing factor is the comparison with its predecessor. The original ‘Suicide Squad’ in 2016, despite its financial success, was poorly received. The differences in storyline between the two films led to confusion and reluctance among audiences.
The film’s release strategy also impacted its box office performance. In addition to theaters, ‘The Suicide Squad’ was simultaneously available for streaming on HBO Max at no extra cost. This dual release approach has affected box office revenues for other summer blockbusters, although some films, like ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ and ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy,’ managed to fare better.
