BIRDS OF PREY: 5 Possible Reasons The Movie Disappointed At The Box Office This Weekend

Birds of Prey isn't a flop, but it did fail to live up to expectations at the box office this weekend. Now, we're take a look at what went wrong for the DC Comics adaptation despite those positive reviews.

By JoshWilding - Feb 10, 2020 12:02 PM EST

Filed Under: Birds of Prey

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a great movie and a fun ride (you can read our spoiler-free review by clicking HERE). Despite that and positive reviews from critics - which hasn't always been the case with DC Comics adaptations - the Suicide Squad spinoff underperformed this weekend with a global debut of around $81 million.

The movie cost less than $100 million to produce so that's not necessarily the end of the world, but unless it has some serious legs over the weeks to come, it could prove to be a disappointment.

So, where did it all go wrong?

It has 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and stars Oscar-nominee Margot Robbie, so there's really no reason to suspect it wasn't going to be every bit as successful as Deadpool, especially with an R-Rating. That's not the case, though, and we're now taking a look at what exactly went wrong for this one.

To check out this breakdown, just click through using the "Next" button below!

An Underwhelming Marketing Campaign

If you weren't overly excited for Birds of Prey leading up to its release in theaters last week, you weren't alone. The movie's marketing campaign underwhelmed from the start, and while we got plenty of unique posters, the first "teaser" was a random assortment of clips showing the cast in costume and the actual trailer didn't arrive until four months ago!

The trades have reported that reshoots following negative reactions at test screenings left Warner Bros.' marketing team with very little to work with, hence why Birds of Prey didn't have a presence at last year's Comic-Con. Looking at the footage that's been released, that actually makes sense as it all feels somewhat disjointed and fails to really get across what the movie is about.

That's emphasized by the fact that Warner Bros. ended up showing the ending of the movie in various TV spots, while big reveals like Huntress and Black Canary in costume were briefly glimpsed rather than being released as breaking news online with official promo shots you have to believe would have generated a lot of press online. Honestly, it's no wonder moviegoers didn't flock to this one.

It's Not Really A Birds Of Prey Movie

Mary-Elizabeth-Winstead-as-Huntress-in-Birds-of-Prey

This is definitely a key issue. "Birds of Prey" doesn't mean much to regular moviegoers, and comic book fans figured out fairly early on that it wasn't actually a Birds of Prey movie. Instead, it was a Harley Quinn movie where those characters played a supporting role and, after watching it, it's not unfair to say that they only really make glorified cameo appearances during this R-Rated adventure.

"Harley Quinn" is a recognisable brand after Suicide Squad, though, and while her name was included in the title, calling the film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was only ever really a gimmick and not something the mainstream media used while talking about the film.

People may have figured out that this was some sort of continuation of the character's story after David Ayer's critically panned movie, but four years is a long time and reminding them of that would have been no bad thing. Instead, it was billed as something else entirely and with no big name characters like Batgirl or Poison Ivy, it seems the movie simply passed casual fans by.

It Didn't Connect With Comic Book Fans

Comic book fans can be a tricky bunch to please at the best of times, but it felt like there's been a disconnect between this film and fans from the start. As we mentioned, they knew from the beginning that this wasn't the movie the title promised, and the lack of interest that seemingly resulted in means covering a film like this one just isn't a priority for websites.

There's a reason why a site like Vanity Fair now covers superhero movies and Star Wars, and why the trades chase down casting scoops for the latest Marvel and DC releases more than any other genre. Comic book fans bring in clicks and with Birds of Prey not generating a huge amount of hype due to an apparent lack of faithfulness to the source material, it's been somewhat overlooked.

Then, there is, of course, that certain group of "fans" who just have zero interest in supporting a movie with female leads. They don't like the fact that a comic book adaptation is putting the spotlight on female empowerment and feel "alienated" because it's not a movie being made just for them. However, Captain Marvel still grossed over $1 billion, so their role here was likely minimal.

Harley Quinn Isn't As Popular As Warner Bros. Thought

Birds-of-Prey-Featured-Social-Media-Image

Suicide Squad was a hit despite negative reviews, but it had Will Smith in a leading role, Oscar-winner Jared Leto bringing The Joker back to the big screen for the first time since 2008, and some killer trailers which made it look quite a bit better than it actually was. Yes, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn was a breakout character but was she popular enough to justify her own film?

She'd only made a single appearance on screen before Birds of Prey and it's hard to escape the feeling that this movie would have been better off had it been released after James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Robbie is perfect as this character and does a phenomenal job here, but the apparent standalone nature of the DCEU probably didn't end up helping matters either.

With no Joker (robbing moviegoers of the chance to see the breakup which serves as the premise of this entire spinoff) and little in the way of teases for what comes next - there's not even a real post-credits scene - it may be hard for a lot of people to get psyched about what feels like a somewhat random addition to this shared world, and Harley isn't a big enough star to counter that.

Who Was The Target Audience Anyway?

Birds-of-Prey-And-the-Fantabulous-Emancipation-of-One-Harley-Quinn-Movie-Trailer

This also can't have helped those opening numbers. With an R-Rating, Birds of Prey was clearly looking to attract an adult audience but Warner Bros. seemingly missed out on the huge number of young and teenage girls who love Harley Quinn and who would have no doubt loved to root for a female team of anti-heroes. Unfortunately, they just weren't old enough to buy a ticket!

There's also no escaping the fact that every male character in the movie is a pretty terrible person, and while that really shouldn't ruin your enjoyment (it's certainly not "anti-man" as some have claimed), there are bound to be a lot of guys who come out of this and don't particularly feel like telling their friends how great it is because they can't really see past that.

Throw in the fact that it boasts an incredibly unique tone and a story structure which is occasionally hard to follow, and word of mouth over the weekend may have also suffered. After all, Birds of Prey received a somewhat disappointing "B+" CinemaScore and it really does feel like Warner Bros. dropped the ball in finding a way to get audiences to connect to these characters.

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162 Comments

1 2 3 4 5

BuzzKillington - 2/10/2020, 12:33 PM

Thing94 - 2/10/2020, 12:50 PM

@BuzzKillington - Haha

PoolParty - 2/10/2020, 12:36 PM

I really enjoyed it.

RubyRhod - 2/10/2020, 12:37 PM

We need a movie crossover of Charlie´s Angels Vs Birds Of Prey:And the fabulous emancipation of Kristen Stewart

BuzzKillington - 2/10/2020, 12:47 PM

@CaptainTico -

Cbmfilmjunkie - 2/10/2020, 12:38 PM

It should have never been called Birds of Prey and it should have been PG-13.
Sucks because it’s a really enjoyable film.

thewanderer - 2/10/2020, 3:04 PM

@CBMFilmJunkie - yep making it R prevented probably Harley’s biggest fan base, teenagers, from seeing it.

lvcl - 2/10/2020, 3:42 PM

@thewanderer

You are right. The name of the Target audience is as long as the title of the movie

teenager girls on their 15´s feminists and LGBT

noahthegrand - 2/10/2020, 12:41 PM

Harley’s target audience is teens and this movie is rated r. Also, marketing. I had no clue when this was coming out in theaters

EskimoJ - 2/10/2020, 1:06 PM

@noahthegrand - #5 and #1, respectively, on Wilding's list.

thewanderer - 2/10/2020, 3:06 PM

@noahthegrand - it also simply wasn’t they good.

noahthegrand - 2/10/2020, 6:00 PM

@thewanderer - really? All the reviews I’ve read have been praising it.

EskimoJ - 2/10/2020, 12:43 PM

- Bad marketing?
Maybe.

- Not really a Birds of Prey movie?
You tell me.

- Didn't resonate with comic book fans?
Entirely possible.

- Harley Quinn not as popular as WB thought?
Perhaps.

- Uncertain target audience?
Might be the case.

- Have I any regrets?
Not in the slightest.

TheGrayGhost - 2/10/2020, 2:53 PM

@EskimoJ -

E4Nigma - 2/10/2020, 12:43 PM

The terrible marketing, R rating, and the ridiculous long title is a good way to dissuade the general audience from seeing the movie.

RegularPoochie - 2/10/2020, 12:44 PM

5 possible reasons to leave this site after shitfest would be better topic.

GhostDog - 2/10/2020, 12:45 PM

Its not completely due to an underwhelming marketing campaign. This got a BIG MARKETING PUSH, at least tv wise as I saw a commercials for the film a lot. But it did seem like they did this weird kind of panicky, last ditch push about a week before it hit theaters

1. Harley isn't as popular as they though
2. The trailers sucked
3. The movie's title is a cluster[frick] and probably confused the GA
4. Harley's target audience is girls between the ages of 12-15 and y'all made this rated R

EskimoJ - 2/10/2020, 12:57 PM

@BlackBeltJones - You actually nailed two of his speculated reasons (questionable target audience and WB overestimating Harley's popularity).

GhostDog - 2/10/2020, 1:06 PM

@EskimoJ - my bro texted me today and was like "I thought this was a HQ film who are the Birds of Prey?"

He isn't into comics and he was trying to understand what the movie is about. He was genuinely confused. He saw The Gentlemen instead.

WakandanQueen - 2/10/2020, 12:45 PM

It's because Harley voted for Bernie.

E4Nigma - 2/10/2020, 12:47 PM

@WakandanQueen -

Bernie is a great politician...

WakandanQueen - 2/10/2020, 12:48 PM

@E4Nigma - It's a joke, I'm not making a political statement.

E4Nigma - 2/10/2020, 12:50 PM

@WakandanQueen -

Good to hear lol. To each their own anyway.

1 2 3 4 5

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