The Suicide Squad has become the highest viewed DC film on HBO Max. The soft reboot/sequel was directed by James Gunn and saw the return of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, and Jai Courtney's Captain Boomerang from 2016's Suicide Squad. The film follows both Wonder Woman 1984 and Zack Snyder's Justice League to be released directly onto the service.
The Suicide Squad has seen much praise in comparison to the original film, earning a 91% rating and Certified Fresh from critics on Rotten Tomatoes in comparison to 2016's Suicide Squad's 26%. The film was also warmly received by audiences, not only earning an 82% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes but also broke pandemic era box-office opening records for R-rated films by grossing $4.1 billion dollars on Thursday night preview screenings. Now it has been revealed that the film has seen further success through its same-day streaming release.
According to recent reports by Samba TV (via Deadline), a viewing analytics organization, The Suicide Squad registered a viewership of 4.7 million US households during its first three weekends of release on HBO Max. This surpasses both of DC's previous releases, with Wonder Woman 1984 earning a viewership of 3.9 million households and Zack Snyder's Justice League earning a viewership of 3.2 million households. However, despite becoming the highest viewed DC film on the service, it fell behind both Mortal Kombat and Godzilla vs Kong, which hold viewerships of 5.5 and 5.1 million respectively.
Despite a strong critical and audience response, The Suicide Squad has been the subject of many discussions regarding its financial success. A recent observation by film industry analyst Gitesh Pandya stating the film's lifetime gross estimations suggested it won't surpass Suicide Squad's opening, with the film suffering an 81% drop in box-office numbers during its second weekend. Many factors have been attributed to the steep box-office drop, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and spread of the Delta variant, making audiences reluctant to fully return to theaters. Unclear marketing, association with the original film, and absent characters such as Deadshot made audiences unsure of what to expect of the film have also been considered when discussing the film's box-office performance.
Even though The Suicide Squad is likely to be a financial disappointment in the eyes of Warner Bros, its legacy within DC's filmography is secure. The Suicide Squad's post-credits teaser was shot during the filming of the spin-off series Peacemaker, giving audiences a glimpse of the fate of John Cena's character. James Gunn has also expressed that he's open to returning to the DC universe, saying that he would want to do more movies focused on the universe's villains. DC Films head Walter Hamada also suggested the director has more projects planned within the franchise. With further projects for Gunn and strong responses from both audiences and critics, The Suicide Squad is sure to be remembered more fondly than its predecessor.
Source: Deadline
