While critics have praised Cathy Yan's "Birds of Prey," the latest title in the DC Extended Universe continues to struggle at the box office. The Wrap reports that Harley Quinn's solo film has only earned $13 million domestically on Friday, and is only expected to pick up another $21 million by Monday. This would be the lowest opening for a DC film since 2010's "Jonah Hex," which earned $5.3 million in its first opening weekend.
Before the film's release, insiders were expecting the film bringing in $55 million, while executives at Warner Bros.
were expecting $45 million. As the film falls below the studio's expectations, it's doubtful that "Birds of Prey" will even pass the $100 million mark domestically during its entire run.
'Birds of Prey' struggling to produce at the box-office
"Birds of Prey" has only raked in $31.1 million globally, a film that had a budget of $85-95 million. That makes it a disastrous figure to see after opening day. This means it will need to do some major work to catch up even with some of the lowest-grossing films in the DCEU, including "Shazam!" which earned $364 million globally in 2019.
"Birds of Prey," is performing very similar to "Doctor Sleep." Both earned rave reviews from those who watched the films, but results fell well short of projections and studio investments.
With no other films on the horizon, Warner Bros. is now feeling pressure for their summer releases "Wonder Woman 1984," "Scoob!" and "In the Heights," to perform well at the box office.
'Birds of Prey' outperformed by 'Bad Boys'
"Birds of Prey," was the only new release this weekend, so holdovers ended up rounding out the rest of the box office charts.
"Bad Boys for Life," is still seeing major financial success and is set to bring in another $12 million by Monday. "1917," is bringing in $9 million for its sixth weekend. "Doolittle" continues to struggle at the box office, while it slowly leaves theaters across the nation. "Jumanji: The Next Level," is getting closer to reaching $300 million domestically after spending nine weekends in theaters.
Deadline reported that the first cut of "Birds of Prey" tested poorly. Film insiders and others have pointed to many reasons why "Birds of Prey." struggled, among the reasons offered include: poor marketing campaign, Coronavirus concerns globally, flu season in the United States, and a poor taste left by "Suicide Squad." Harley Quinn and Margot Robbie will return for "The Suicide Squad," in 2021. If "Birds of Prey" can perform as well as James Wan's "Aquaman," over the long term, it could bring in a box office haul of over $500 million. It's doubtful the movie will stay in theaters for an extended period of time.