American box office

The poor ratings on Rotten Tomatoes should serve as no indication for “Suicide Squad’s” sheer popularity at the North American box office.

Regardless, the film took the record for the strongest August opening ever. It also ranks as a new personal best for star Will Smith, trumping “I Am Legend’s” $77.2 million debut in 2007.

Box office success for “Suicide Squad” was vital for Warner Bros. “The marketing campaign was brilliant and the performances by the cast, starting with Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto were just extraordinary. They’re fun and wicked and fans enjoy it”. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself? “The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern called the film “…an all-out attack on the whole idea of entertainment”, New York’s David Edelstein branded it “the worst of the worst”, and MTV’s Amy Nicholson dismissed the picture as “two hours of padding”.

Suicide Squad is set after the death of Superman.

“The elephant in the room is that the reviews were harsh”.

How did “Suicide Squad” overcome bad reviews and a problematic post-production to become an August smash?

On the bright side, the Associated Press reports that although there were large audiences Thursday and Friday night, ticket sales sharply declined on Saturday. All the surcharges from these enhanced formats help the bottom line, but they also signal to even casual moviegoers that “Suicide Squad” is the kind of event that’s worth seeing on a bigger screen than the ones at your house. But the cost isn’t the only concern.

The loss of Robin contributed to Batman’s hatred of Superman. “If the film is financially successful. then Warners will be encouraged to do a sequel”. The studio has scheduled nine more DC films through 2020, including the 2017 release Wonder Woman with Gal Gadot, who won praise for her portrayal of the female superhero in Batman v Superman.

“While the opening [of Suicide Squad] is massive, a title like this should really only fall in the 30 percent range at the outside”.

Warner Bros. has been here before: a high stakes, big-budget superhero movie that overcomes negative reviews to score a huge opening. 2 million to its bounty in its second weekend in theaters.

Despite being poorly received by critics, “Suicide Squad” is rocking the box office ahead of “Jason Bourne” and “Bad Moms”. Look, I named my seven-year-old cat after Harley Quinn. The family comedy is one of the year’s biggest hits, having made $319.6 million in the past five weeks stateside and $182.6 million overseas fetching a stunning $502.2 million worldwide.

Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets was fourth with $11.6m. The sci-fi film, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Simon Pegg, took home an estimated $10.2 million from domestic theaters it’s third weekend out, bringing its total US take to $127.9 million.