Weekend Box Office: ‘The Suicide Squad’ Couldn’t Defeat The Threat Of The Delta Variant
We’re still in the midst of a raging pandemic, as evidenced by the rise ofDelta variant cases. That might seem like stating the obvious at this point, but it remains a crucial bit of context worth emphasizing at a time whentoo many box office prognosticatorsseem intent on downplaying or ignoring reality altogether. That’s not to provide cover for any studio releases that fall short of even pandemic-adjusted expectations, asThe Suicide Squadundeniably did this past weekend, but it’s an inextricable part of the story here nonetheless.
With that caveat out of the way, let’s dig into the numbers from this past weekend.
The Suicide Squad “Disappoints”
James Gunn’sThe Suicide Squadtopped out at $26.5 million domesticthis weekend, coming in well below projections that conservatively put the latest comic book superhero/supervillain/antihero flick between $30 and $40 million. But in a reflection of the current pandemic-affected state of moviegoing, this was still more than enough to landThe Suicide Squadat number 1 in the domestic box office charts. Internationally, the film brought in an additional $35 million to boost the combined total to $72.2 million.
Hopes were initially high forThe Suicide Squad, particularly coming off its critically reviled (yet immensely successful) predecessor, 2016’sSuicide Squadthat released on the exact same weekend 5 years ago. Led byMargot Robbie’sfan-favorite Harley Quinn and joined by the ever-popularIdris Elba, the Gunn sequel earnedrave reviewsand seemed set to follow up the pleasantlysurprising initial showing for Marvel’sBlack Widowa few weeks prior.
Unfortunately,The Suicide Squadhad to contend withthe combination of an audience-suppressing R rating, a release on streaming service HBO Max at the same time as its theatrical release, a hefty $185 million budget (at minimum and not even counting marketing costs, mind you), and the ongoing audience hesitancy to head out to theaters because of the increasing spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19. All those box office villains joined forces to sinkThe Suicide Squadworse thanViola Davis’Amanda Waller ever could.
There are certainly morein-depth hairs to splitfor those looking for a more thorough explanation for this relative underperformance, but perhaps the biggest reason is also the most obvious: the coronavirus is still wreaking havoc in spite of our well-intentioned collective desire to return to normalcy.
The Rest of the Box Office
Afterperforming relatively well the previous week, Disney’sJungle Cruisesettled for a second place finish after dropping 55% in its second weekend of release. As Disney only seems inclined to provide Disney+ Premiere Access rental numbers for opening weekend publicity, we only have the film’s $15.7 million in additional ticket sales this weekend to take into account. To date,Jungle Cruisehas pulled in $65 million domestic and $121 million globally.
M. Night Shyamalan’shorror/thrillerOldtook in another $4.1 million for a third place finish and a three week domestic total of $38.5 million. After accumulating $26 million internationally, its worldwide numbers now come out to $65 million. In a stark difference from mega-budgeted blockbusters that are causing studios to bleed money in an attempt to recoup as much cost as possible,Old’sreasonable $18 million price tag already sets it up to be a modest box office success.
That leavesBlack WidowandStillwaterto round out the top 5, with A24’sThe Green Knightin sixth place with another $2.5 million for a two week total of $12 million. In another Covid-era achievement,Black Widowhas officially passedF9to become the highest grossing North American picture. The other side of the coin, of course, is thatBlack Widowcomes with the pandemic asterisk of ranking among the lowest-grossing MCU movies thus far.
Come back next week to see what happens whenFree Guyenters the box office arena.
