Full disclosure: I'm with the larger consensus when it comes to Suicide Squad in thinking that it is, without a doubt, better than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but is still rife with problems. Sure, the David Ayer-helmed DC adaptation feels rushed, is structured with a seemingly "let God sort it out" attitude, and features plot holes that you could drive semi-rig through, but that's really just the tip of the iceberg for me. The beating that Ayer's film took from critics, however, is inconsequential when compared to those who buy a ticket and sit down to watch the movie, and in that realm, Suicide Squad has been a robust success so far.
As THR reports, Suicide Squad's box office take on Friday came in at a little over $65 million, which sets the film up to be an August box office record destroyer. Number already indicate that Ayer's film will unseat Guardians of the Galaxy as the highest-grossing August opener of all time, but that's not all. Suicide Squad also looks to be outpacing Marvel's beloved Deadpool in weekend box office, another film that took the comic book universe into dark comedy territory and came out exhilaratingly triumphant. By the end of the weekend, Ayer's film is likely to hit $145-150 million total, which should allow some execs at Warner Bros. and DC to rest a little easier tonight, bundled with a healthy $64.6 million opening overseas for the film.
Beyond the rag-tag group of villains, overseen by Viola Davis' Amanda "The Wall" Waller and Jared Leto's Joker, AKA Puddin', the box office landscape is not great. The other weekend opener, Barry Sonnenfeld's Nine Lives, is looking at an abysmal $6-7 million weekend take currently. That would likely put it well outside the top five for the weekend, with holdovers Jason Bourne ($23 million), Bad Moms ($16.5 million), The Secret Life of Pets ($11.1 million), and Star Trek Beyond ($9.6 million) filling those empty spaces. This shouldn't come as that big of a surprise to anyone, mind you. Batman v Superman still had a very good, record-breaking opening weekend with largely negative reviews, and there was never a doubt that Suicide Squad was at least going to have a good opening weekend. Still, there's good, and then there's borderline redemptive good...at least in terms of box office.
