Looks like Suicide Squad has some legs after all. Despite garnering mostly negative reviews from critics, Suicide Squad went on to have the biggest August opening ever. And besdies this initially burst of success, the movie would have to prove that it could keep its performance up if it wanted to avoid any more comparison to it's older brother Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Even in its third week in theaters, Suicide Squad is still number one in the box office.
According to Deadline, Suicide Squad finished its third week in theaters with an estimated $20.7 million. Considering it's been out for almost a month in the increasingly sleepy days of August, this is no small feat. Suicide Squad is currently the highest opening movie in August, wrestling the title away from the previous champion Guardians of the Galaxy. The supervillain-centric film has also beaten out Guardians of the Galaxy by making more money in the 17 days it's been open; Suicide Squad has made $262 million domestically while at this point in its run, Guardians of the Galaxy had made $222 million. However, it failed to beat BvS in this department, which had made $296 million after 17 days in theaters. This puts Suicide Squad's total global income at $572 million.
The David Ayer-directed film was made on a budget reported at $175 million, so the film has at least made that back in spades at the box office. However, that's not including the cost of marketing, which can be much more money than the budget of the film. Considering that billboards for Suicide Squad were practically everywhere, it might not have made back it's marketing budget just yet.
Of course, one has to consider the untallied revenue from Suicide Squad merchandise such as action figures and t-shirts. Those who know how superhero movies like these are produced will be aware that toy sales actually heavily factor into the success of the movie. With toys costing so much more than the price of a movie ticket, filmmakers have been known to make creative decisions for a movie based on what toys will sell after its release.
Part of the reason for Suicide Squad's success must also be attributed to its less than stellar competition. Its main rival this weekend was Ben-Hur, MGM/Paramount's remake of the classic 1959 film of the same name. The film did not live up to expectations, and opened at fifth place with $11.35 million. Considering that it was made on a budget of $100 million, it's probably safe to say that the film is a flop. The film has garnered some mixed reviews, but that hasn't saved it from a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Suicide Squad is out in theaters right now, but judging by the box office, you've probably seen it already.
