“Suicide Squad” shatters records with $267.1 m global opening

PanARMENIAN.Net - Bad reviews likely have no effect on "Suicide Squad" as the DC antihero movie shatters records with an estimated $135.1 million debut in North America and an estimated $132 million in the rest of the world. It's No. 1 opening also becomes the highest August debut, AceShowbiz reports.

It beats the record set by "Guardians of the Galaxy" in 2014 when the Marvel film grossed $94.3 million domestically. It also marks the first $100 million opening for Will Smith, who portrays Deadshot, trumping the $77.2 million debut of "I Am Legend" in 2007.

The David Ayer-directed movie was panned by critics while the audience gave it a B+ in CinemaScore. 73% of moviegoers also liked it, according to Rotten Tomatoes. "This is one of the films that people pegged all summer long to do this type of business," said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations.

Bock continued, "The reviews are usually a barometer of a big drop next weekend. I don't know that it'll be as bad as 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'," which tumbled 69% after opening with $166 million in March, "but it's still not quite on par with what Marvel is doing. All their films received really high marks across the board."

ComScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said, "The good news, despite those critical barbs, is that this is the last major tentpole of the summer." He explained that with only "Sausage Party", "Florence Foster Jenkins" and "Pete's Dragon" opening nationwide next weekend, "they're going to have a pretty wide-open playing field into Labor Day, which will be the official end to a very volatile, unpredictable summer movie season."

Elsewhere at the weekend box office, last week's champion "Jason Bourne" falls 61.6% to No.2 in its second weekend with an estimated $22.7 million, followed by R-rated comedy "Bad Moms" with an estimated $14.2 million. Universal's "The Secret Life of Pets" stays in the fourth place with an estimated $11.6 million, while Justin Lin's "Star Trek Beyond" drops three slots to No. 5 with an estimated $10.2 million.