For almost this entire month, Suicide Squad has ruled the box office with an iron fist. Three weekends have come and gone, with the DC Comics anti-hero picture ruling the roost, and leaving little room for competitors. But with the fourth and final weekend of August coming up, the top of the heap may go to someone the villainous crew didn't see coming. If current estimates hold up, Don't Breathe might score a much needed win for the horror genre, in a 2016 that's been less than optimal for the genre of shock and awe.
Consider the following: Suicide Squad brought in $20.8 million last weekend, as the result of a 52.1% decrease from the previous weekend. Should David Ayer's film hold true to those numbers, around $9.9 million could be the film's performance throughout this next weekend. Considering this is a best case scenario, we're going to go out on a limb and agree with The Hollywood Reporter's reported range of a $11 - $14 million opening for Don't Breathe, which would comfortably put that film at the top of the weekend, if true. Though it's not just the numbers that have us convinced, it's also the demographics.
Suicide Squad is the closest thing DC Comics has to being a horror film, with its darker undertones and supernatural elements. Folks that are tuned into the horror wavelength are naturally going to flock to Don't Breathe, as it's a fine looking entry in that genre's canon, and the freshest we've seen in a while. Though Suicide Squad also relied on action fans to propel it to its current worldwide grosses of $580.2 million, and with both The Mechanic: Resurrection and Hands Of Stone hitting theaters this weekend, fans can get their fill of adrenaline elsewhere, and not have to see a horror film if they don't want to. But again, judging Don't Breathe solely on its looks, we'd feel like fools to think that it isn't going to be the big ticket of the weekend.
Do not cry for Suicide Squad, for it had a pretty decent run, which included smashing so many of the August records that Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy had set back in 2014. And three weekends at the top is something that's amazing no matter what movie it is, as that sort of staying power is rarely heard of these days. To be honest, Deadshot, Harley Quinn and the rest of the Squad had to eventually lose to someone, and we couldn't think of a better film coming down the pike this weekend to do so.
Don't Breathe may just snatch the air out of your lungs, as it's released into theaters this weekend.
