Over the weekend, we updated you on The Suicide Squad's surprisingly disappointing opening weekend in North America. There were factors at play (like the pandemic and that HBO Max release), but even taking those into account, it was an underwhelming result for James Gunn's DC Comics movie.
Thanks to Deadline, we now have some international numbers, and they're sadly not much better.
After debuting to $6.7 million from five overseas markets last weekend, a wider offshore release this weekend saw the reboot/sequel earn $35 million from 69 markets (we're sure Harley Quinn would appreciate that). This is below Birds of Prey's $36.6 million debut in 2020, but takes The Suicide Squad's current global total to a so-so $72.2 million.
As for what led to this happening, we've already mentioned the obvious contributing factors, but it sounds like closures in countries like Australia and Mexico could have hurt Task Force X's big screen return.
Also problematic according to the trade is the fact that the movie's title doesn't do enough to delineate itself from 2016's Suicide Squad, a movie not exactly fondly remembered by the majority of moviegoers. Piracy has also been an issue, especially as The Suicide Squad's HBO Max debut meant it was widely available in HD on certain websites literally within minutes of debuting.
All eyes will be on Free Guy this weekend, as that's debuting globally and has a PG-13 rather than R. Should it blast past The Suicide Squad, then we'll have a better idea of whether the rating and pandemic were the issues or if it boils down to a lack of interest in these DC characters.
How did you decide to watch The Suicide Squad this weekend?
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