'Birds Of Prey' projected to have the lowest opening weekend in DCEU despite stellar reviews
DC's latest offering 'Birds Of Prey And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of Harley Quinn' is all set to hit the screens on February 7. However, despite stellar reviews, the film's opening weekend is projected to have the (DC Extended Universe) DCEU's lowest weekend openings. Yet, considering Warner Bros's latest films have struck gold, the Margot Robbie starrer could just top the charts in time.
According to Exhibitor Relations, Warner Bros. expects the film to open with $45 million in the United States. While the studio might be underestimating the success, in the event that it does much better than expected, effectively making sure it exceeds expectations if the film does debut in the mid $40 million range, that would be quite low for the franchise. Considering 'Shazam' had an opening weekend with 53.5 million, which would make 'Birds Of Prey' the lowest in DCEU history. However, considering the reviews are glowing, positive word-of-mouth could just boost sales. That being said, Shazam did in fact, make $140 million total in the US and $363 million worldwide. 'Birds Of Prey' might just follow suit.
'Birds Of Prey' tells the story of Harley Quinn (Robbie), who has just broken up with Joker. Relationships can go to hell, Harley Quinn decides to have some fun with her girl gang. Though Jared Leto portrayed the Joker in the 2016 dud 'Suicide Squad', Robbie asserted that the Joker will not appear in the film, not even as a cameo.
In an earlier interview with Variety, Robbie said she didn't know why the 'unstable and brilliant' character would want to stay in a relationship with Joker, who wants to kill her most of the time. So she did some research, where she listened to TED Talks by women with schizophrenia. She immersed herself in the world of DC and read the comics too. "Harley has this unpredictable nature that means she could react in any way to any situation, which as an actor is just a gift," said Robbie.