Box Office: 'Birds of Prey' Grounded With $33.3M Bow - Hollywood Reporter

The Margot Robbie-led DC superhero pic opened almost $20 million behind expectations.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn failed to gain altitude in its box office debut, earning a tepid $33.3 million from 4,236 theaters to mark one of the lowest domestic launches in modern times for a studio superhero pic.

The female-led film also struggled overseas, where it opened to a $48 million from 78 markets for a global start of $81.3 million. The coronavirus is starting to impact moviegoing in Asian markets outside of China, including South Korea, where Birds of Prey grossed a muted $1.9 million.

Birds of Prey was never meant to score a mega-opening since it is a spinoff and sports an R rating. Still, the Warner Bros. and DC title had been tracking to start off with at least $50 million to $55 million in North America and $60 million or more offshore.

The movie — the weekend's only new wide release — could take solace in coming in No. 1.

Cathy Yan directed the Suicide Squad spinoff, which sees Margot Robbie reprise her role as Harley Quinn. DCEU newcomers Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), Rosie Perez (Renee Montoya), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress) and Ewan McGregor also star. Sue Kroll, Robbie and Bryan Unkeless produced.

The film faced challenges before getting to the big screen. Reshoots were ordered after the studio saw a first cut, with John Wick director Chad Stahelski enlisted to work alongside Yan and infuse Birds with more action.

Before now, the lowest opener in the DC Extended Universe was Shazam! with $53 million, not adjusted for inflation. Among other superhero titles with low openings, last year's X-Men installment Dark Phoenix debuted to $32.8 million domestically (that film cost far more to make than Birds of Prey).

The hope now is that Yan's movie will make up ground over Presidents Day weekend and in subsequent weeks, particularly if females start to flock to the film in big numbers.

So far, Birds of Prey is skewing male (53 percent), according to leading exit polling service PostTrak. CinemaScore, which only surveys a smattering of cinemas on Friday, showed a different result, with females making up 51 percent of its respondents.

Birds of Prey earned strong reviews, while receiving a B+ CinemaScore. One dampener could be the film's R-rating, which automatically makes it difficult for teenagers to partake. On Friday, 73 percent of ticket buyers were 25 and under, according to PostTrak.

The opening is another blow for Warner Bros., which has suffered a string of misses or under-performers in recent months. The big exception is Joker, which is up for a leading 11 nominations at today's Academy Awards ceremony, with Joaquin Phoenix considered a shoo-in for best actor.

Elsewhere, Sony hit Bad Boys for Life fell to No. 2 in its fourth weekend with $12 million for a domestic cume of $166.3 million.

Best picture contender 1917 saw a nice boost on the eve of the Oscars, declining just 5 percent to $9 million for a domestic cume of $132.5 million. The Amblin and Universal release marched to another $15.2 million overseas for a foreign tally of $154.8 million and $287.3 million globally.

Specialty pics Parasite and Jojo Rabbit, which are also up for top honors at the Oscars, likewise saw a nice bump. Parasite earned another $1.5 million, a gain of 9 percent from last weekend, for a domestic total of $35.5 million and more than $165 million globally. Jojo, which was up 13 percent, likewise grossed $1.5 million for a domestic cume of $30.3 million and $74.3 million globally.

Little Women, another best picture contender, took in $2.3 million domestically and $5.8 million overseas for a worldwide cume of $177 million, including $102.7 million domestically.

Elsewhere, Dolittle placed fourth in North America with $6.7 million for a domestic cume of $64 million and $94.7 million globally.

Jumanji: The Next Level rounded out the top five with $5.5 million for a domestic total of $298.6 million and $768 million worldwide.

Knives Out, which placed No. 8 in its eleventh weekend, all but jumped the $300 million mark globally after earning another $2.4 million domestically and $1.3 million overseas for a global tally through Sunday of $299.6 million.

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2020-02-09 16:38:12Z

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