While DC Extended Universe is still in its infancy, it seems like the whole world is looking to how it will compete with its rival, Marvel. And while the Marvel Cinematic Universe already has eight years and 13 films behind it (plus an insane slate of future projects), DC's Suicide Squad was only the third film in the budding universe. Although highly anticipated, the critical response to Suicide Squad was mixed to negative, leading many to believe that the film would be a box office flop. This was not the case though, as the villain-centric movie has gone on to make tons of money. So much so that it's edging another DCEU movie out of box office glory.
Forbes has just done a box office round up for this weekend, and they've reported that Suicide Squad is extremely close to edging out Zack Snyder's 2013 movie Man of Steel for more domestic box office revenue. Man of Steel originally accrued an impressive $291.045 million when it controversially hit theaters. At this point, Suicide Squad has made $289.662 million, and it has another two days of weekend sales (as well as possible Labor Day movie attendance) to squeeze by its predecessor and take the crown.
Of course, this could be happening for quite a few reasons.
Man of Steel unknowingly became the first entry in the DC Extended Universe. Zack Snyder made the movie without realizing exactly how important the ground work he laid down would be in the next coming years. As such, Man of Steel had the anticipation and excitement from any other one shot comic book movie from years gone by. Everyone loves Superman and was excited to see him battle Zod in a visually stunning new feature film, but audiences didn't have years and multiple movies to motivate them to see it, and see it again.
Suicide Squad, however, was marketed like the saving grace for the DCEU. After Man of Steel and Batman v Superman were harshly criticized for their dark and humorless tones, David Ayer's villain movie focused on keeping things fun and light. Will Smith gave some heartfelt moments as Deadshot, but it was largely an action/comedy movie in the end. And while the critical reception was a bit chilly, the movie has proved itself to have some serious legs at the box office, breaking records for August premiers and Fandango pre-sales.
It should be interesting to see how the DCEU moves forward with its future projects. Wonder Woman is next on the docket, and it will mark the first DCEU movie since the post Batman v Superman changes happened at the studio. Will they finally find the perfect mix of humor and drama that will keep the universe going? We'll just have to wait and see.
Wonder Woman will fly into theaters on June 2nd, 2017.
