‘Suicide Squad’ Drops as Hard as ‘Batman v Superman’
Last weekend, the DC Cinematic Universe entered the weekend with guns blazing as Suicide Squad obliterated the August opening weekend record. Now in its second frame, the worst superheroes ever feel more down to earth, dropping 67% for an estimated $43.8 million weekend.
With the exception of Deadpool, 2016 hasn’t been the best example for leggy superhero movies. And it appears that DC’s Suicide Squad will follow suit. Even worse, Suicide Squad is starting to play more along the lines of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And we all know how fast of a burn that was not even hitting a 2x multiplier. Granted, Batman v Superman was also thrown into a crowded March, but Suicide Squad has an open playing field at the moment. Still, that’s not stopping an equally alarming fast burn type of run. It’s almost weird to say $300 million is up in the air at this point. But to be honest, that’s exactly what we’re dealing with here. The only comparison here is the Twilight films, which mustered over $220 million in its first 10 days to miss the $300 million mark. A finish around $280-290 million isn’t the DC apocalypse, but it’s another warning shot for Wonder Woman and Justice League to be more critic and audience friendly.
In second place this weekend is the raunchy adult comedy, Sausage Party debuting with $33.6 million over the three days. The Seth Rogen food comedy is in a world of its own. August isn’t exactly a month for animation hits, let alone animation with the rare exceptions being Planes and Barnyard. So it was a challenge to gauge how well Sausage Party would do this weekend. Then again, Rogen’s comedy is a successful brand to itself with hits such as Knocked Up, Superbad and Pineapple Express. Sausage Party arrives right on track with those three films, though the question remains if it can hold as well in the coming weeks.
There’s no doubt that Disney has had a very impressive 2016. From Finding Dory to The Jungle Book, it’ll be a while before another year can match this. The remake of Pete’s Dragon this weekend, however, was a modest hit for the studio. Debuting just above $21 million, Pete’s Dragon matches Steven Spielberg’s The BFG earlier this summer. It’s not the end of summer blockbuster Disney might have been hoping for, especially that critics praised the film immensely. Perhaps in the coming weeks, there could be some legs ahead.
After two massive tumbles, Jason Bourne leveled out this weekend, down 39.2% in its fourth weekend. Pulling in another $13.6 million, Bourne is just about at $130 million. Like Star Trek Beyond and Suicide Squad, it’s yet another example of quick burns this summer. Mixed reviews haven’t helped as this most recent installment will most likely finish neck-and-neck with Star Trek Beyond around $150 million.
Rounding out the charts this weekend is Bad Moms with $11.5 million. Down a mere 18.2% from last weekend, Bad Moms is the rare film right now that’s actually holding over. What makes it even more shocking is it held so well against the breakout Sausage Party. Even if it does fall about $10 million shy of the century mark, this is still one successful run.
Sausage Party blew away my $15 million prediction this past Thursday. However, Pete’s Dragon debuted a bit lower than my $30 million estimate.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s.
#1 – Suicide Squad (1)
$43.8 million / $222.9 million total
#2 – Sausage Party (NR)
$33.6 million / $33.6 million total
#3 – Pete’s Dragon (NR)
$21.5 million / $21.5 million total
#4 – Jason Bourne (2)
$13.6 million / $126.8 million total
#5 – Bad Moms (3)
$11.5 million / $71.5 million total
Opening Next Week: Ben-Hur, War Dogs, Kubo and the Two Strings
Source: Box Office Mojo
