Negative reviews be damned. Task Force X has most certainly accomplished its mission with gusto. Suicide Squad hit theaters less than two weeks ago, and even in the face of an overwhelmingly negative critical response, the DC supervillain team-up has made a boatload of money. Against all odds they pulled it off. In fact, the last major blockbuster of the summer has officially crossed a major financial benchmark that should make the folks at DC and Warner Bros. very happy.
According to a new report from Heroic Hollywood, it looks like Suicide Squad continues its unlikely meteoric rise. The film has officially passed the $500 million global box office mark, making it a certified hit with audiences. Broken down into different markets, the film has garnered roughly $238 million in the United States, and about $271 million overseas, and it's not done yet. Suicide Squad still has to open wide in certain markets like Germany and Japan, so we have a feeling that there's still plenty of money left to be made out there.
What makes this financial success so interesting is the fact that it further highlights the growing disparity between film critics and general film audiences. Suicide Squad received near universal panning when it hit theaters on August 5, but audiences have shown a decidedly kinder attitude towards the DCEU outing. In fact, some irate fans even went so far as to try and get Rotten Tomatoes shut down over the negative reviews. This obviously didn't work, but it shows how passionate fans can become when they don't feel represented by critics.
Another thing that makes Suicide Squad's financial performance so interesting is the fact that it barely features many recognizable faces from the mainstream DC lore. Sure, it features a little bit of Ben Affleck's Batman, and a sparing amount of Jared Leto's Joker, but the movie's most recognizable main character is Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. With obscure DC personas like Deadshot (Will Smith), Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), DC still managed to sell audiences on an awesome comic book ensemble and turn a profit. That at the very least opens the door for other obscure DC adaptations to take place in the near future. Red Hood and the Outlaws, anyone?
Of course, we still have to note that Suicide Squad hasn't experienced the financial success enjoyed by certain other blockbusters that hit theaters within the last year. A solid $500 million gross is impressive, but it doesn't yet come close to the roughly $1.1 billion garnered by Captain America: Civil War during its time in theaters. It's still early in Suicide Squad's theatrical run, but its sudden Week 1 to Week 2 drop off in box office earnings means that it still probably won't crack the highly-coveted $1 billion mark any time soon. We will have to wait and see.
CinemaBlend will bring you any and all relevant details related to the financial performance of Suicide Squad as more information becomes available to us. The Task Force X solo adventure is currently in theaters; if you haven't checked it out already, make sure to do so while you still can.
