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The DCEU had been doling out box office hits with the likes of Shazam! and Joker, but it looks like they’ve reached yet another stumble with Birds of Prey—at least when it comes US theaters.
With an opening weekend gross of $33.25 million, Birds of Prey had the lowest opening weekend for a DCEU movie. Compare this to Joker which earned $93.5 million and Shazam! with $53 million. Worldwide though, Birds had earned $81 million.
We don’t know the reason as to why Birds isn’t performing as well, but some think that this could be due to the lack of marketing when it comes to the movie. What’s more, it was a film released in February, a ‘dump month’ were studios release films they don’t expect to perform well. Don’t forget the film is Rated-R too, cutting a huge chunk of the audience out of the picture; if you ask me, the movie didn’t even use its R-Rating that well, since the only explicit material in this film was the language.
At some point, some also suspect that this could be a result of the Coronavirus Outbreak, which has caused some people to avoid crowds—something that is usually commonplace when it comes to movie theaters.
Generally, Birds of Prey had favorable reviews, and a lot of praise has been going to everyone from Margot Robbie to director Cathy Yan. Granted, there are also people who are actively boycotting this movie because it supposedly pushes the ‘feminist agenda’—which is the worst reason for a film to bomb.
Personally, I thought the movie was a fun ride. Sure, the narrative is pretty weak, and the dialogue needs polishing, but the action is very solid and there is still a lot to love, from Huntress being an awkward assassin to Black Mask and Zsasz being the creepiest cats in the Gotham. Also, I know some people hate when women are given voices in movies, but I thought the issues that the film brings up are relevant, and very authentic—even more authentic than Wonder Woman.
Now, I kind of wish they just lowered the rating because I’m sure there are some younger girls who would have loved to see the story that the film was trying to tell.
Catch Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) in theaters today.
Source: Variety
