Suicide Squad had a great weekend at the box office, despite taking it in the teeth from most critics. That's not entirely surprising. Any movie with the label of DC or Marvel is likely to own the weekend its released on, short of some especial focus on backstage drama, such as with Fantastic Four. It's becoming clearer that there was a tremendous amount of dramatic antics behind the latest DC adaptation but that didn't really get talked about until the week it was released. That Suicide Squad involves both Batman (Ben Affleck) and the Joker (Jared Leto), and beloved DC character Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), also helps.
The fact that this winning streak for the David Ayer film has extended into the week, however, does come as a bit of a surprise. Deadline reports today that Suicide Squad has just unseated Guardians of the Galaxy from another record, for the second time in less than a week. The DC adaptation took in $14.2 million yesterday, which not only beats out Guardians of the Galaxy for best Tuesday take in August, but also pointed its proverbial finger in the chest of a few other blockbusters' Tuesday take. $14.2 was also enough to take down Captan America: Civil War ($13.7 million) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($12.7 million) for their respective Tuesday takes.
Perhaps it's the fact that Suicide Squad is, undoubtedly, a more sufferable overall experience than Batman v Superman that's been making it so appealing to viewers. I have a hard time believing it's the movie itself, but the substance of the film doesn't seem to matter much here. The DC Universe, like Star Wars or Marvel, has garnered and sustains a devotion that is not unlike religion. One can no more evade Suicide Squad, in this thinking, than a church-on-Sunday Christian could skip over the Book of Job. So, when the movie almost certainly scores a second weekend at the top of the box office, with only Sausage Party and Pete's Dragon posing minuscule threats, there will similarly not be much shock. Which is not to say that I'm not pulling for both of those far superior films to triumph over this steaming pile of hot nonsense.
