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The Suicide Squad’s Numbers Can Be Explained by a Letter

new suicide squad

We don’t do a wrap of the weekend’s top-earning movies anymore. But as more and more movies are trundling out to theaters, let’s talk about the box office for old times’ sake.

This weekend’s biggest flick was James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (not to be confused with David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad, which seems like everyone is doing their best to forget about). The latest version earned $26.2 million, which was about $10 million more than the 10-day-old Jungle Cruise took in.

I can hear what you’re saying: That’s a lot, right? Is it a lot?

The answer: It’s a lot if that’s the number on your paycheck, and I’d be happy to take some of that cash off your hands. But for a movie? Even in these COVID-riddled, theater-wary times? No. No it is not.

Fellow superhero film Black Widow earned $80.4 million in its opening weekend this July. F9: The Fast Saga took home $70 million. A Quiet Place Part II pocketed $47.6 million.

Now, these numbers are a far cry from what blockbusters debuted with in, say, 2019. If theaters were “normal,” Black Widow’s opening frame probably would’ve been three times that figure.

But still, $80.4 million is nothing to sneeze at. And $26.2 million? A-choo. Given that Warner Bros. spent an estimated $185 million to make the thing (and plenty more to market it), it feels as though the studio will have lots of ground to make up.

Pundits are calling The Suicide Squad’s debut everything from a “disappointment” and a “disaster.” And some outlets are doing their best to explain away the film’s dowdy beginning. IGN blames it largely on Warner Bros.’ strategy of releasing its new movies simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. And sure, that’s part of it. Reportedly, viewership on the streaming service was robust.

But other Warner Bros.’ simultaneous releases have still fared far better in theaters than The Suicide Squad. Godzilla vs. Kong, another Warner Bros. release, earned $31.6 million back in April—and playing in 1,200 fewer theaters. Just last month, Space Jam: A New Legacy, earned $31 million, again playing in hundreds fewer theaters. Why, Warner Bros.’ Wonder Woman 1984 earned $16.7 million in theaters last December, when barely a theater dared crack its door open.

IGN also suggests that we may be a little tired of DC movies (noting that DC’s Birds of Prey earned just $201.8 million worldwide, pre-pandemic, which was also considered a disappointment), or citing a lack of a bankable superstar (though it seems Margot Robbie and Idris Elba are plenty popular).

Despite all those hypotheses, I think a big reason why The Suicide Squad disappointed can be summed up by one single letter—one that IGN mentions as a mere afterthought: The letter R.

Let’s look at DC’s recent history in theaters, shall we? The last four superhero-centric movies produced by Warner Bros.’ DC branch have been Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder’s Justice League (a nearly four-hour recut of the original) and, now, The Suicide Squad.

Three of those four are rated R. And two of those are predicated on villains saving the world. All arguably underperformed.

Now, I’m on record on loving a good antihero or two. I think that moral ambiguity can sometimes add a certain spiritual tang to superhero stories. After all, us regular folk aren’t always the heroes we imagine ourselves to be, either—no matter how hard we try.

But I do think that superhero narratives are, by their very nature, aspirational bits of entertainment. We flock to superhero flicks to see people strive to do the right thing, to sacrifice for the greater good, to be the sorts of figures that we know we should be, too.

I get why some liked Deadpool, and I appreciate Logan, two R-rated superhero movies that succeeded. But I don’t think that most cinematic superhero fans ever watch a Guardians of the Galaxy movie and say to themselves, “You know what that needed? A lot more disembowelments. Oh, and f-words. It needed loads more f-words.”

And let’s also remember something critical: Superhero movies are, for better or worse, thought of as family movies. I can’t tell you the number of parents who have told me how excited their 12-year-old to see, say, Aquaman. I can’t tell you how many parents have also said how excited they were to introduce their children to the superhero films they loved. Superheroes, as much as sports or Settlers of Catan, can help bond families closer together.

“When DC takes a look at its broader heritage and embraces what made its heroes great—even if it freshens them up a little—then it and Warner Bros. succeeds.”

I’d argue that historically, DC heroes like Superman, Batman (excepting his dark early period) and Wonder Woman have been more aspirational, more idealistic and more family friendly than Marvel supes. That script has been flipped over the last decade or so, because in part DC seems determined to ignore those strengths, framing them as weaknesses instead. When DC takes a look at its broader heritage and embraces what made its heroes great—even if it freshens them up a little—then it and Warner Bros. succeeds. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, even Shazam! leaned into that sense of optimism: that heroes are heroes because of what they believe in, not because of how many cars they can lift. Lean into that a little bit more—and make it safe for family viewing—and I think we won’t be talking about underperforming DC movies nearly as much.

paul-asay
Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

3 Responses

  1. -Joker was rated R and it made over $1 billion, despite the fact that it was banned from China and didn’t even have Batman in it. AND, might I add, it made more money than the final Star Wars movie, which was rated PG-13.

    So no, the R rating isn’t the reason The Suicide Squad failed. It’s probably part of the reason, but HBO Max and the pandemic are likely the bigger reasons.

    1. -I agree. Plus this was a reboot of a movie that came out only five years ago, for heaven’s sake. I’m not the target audience for movies like this, but if I were I would be turned off by the cynicism and lack of inspiration.

  2. -Another possibility for failure some pundits have kicked around is simply that the “stink” of the first movie was still too large for the sequel to succeed. The first film was disliked by so many people that they may have just chosen to not give the sequel any chance, no matter what the change in director or rating.