Despite glowing reviews, James Gunn's The Suicide Squad underwhelmed at the box office, and the lack of Will Smith's Deadshot is arguably a big reason why. While it briefly took the top spot on Rotten Tomatoes, The Suicide Squad currently sits just under Wonder Woman as the best-reviewed DCEU movie on that site. It's also got the second-highest audience score, so this isn't a case where critics dig a movie but fans are left wanting. Yet, all that praise didn't stop The Suicide Squad from coming up well short of its opening weekend expectations.
While The Suicide Squad did open at #1, it also didn't do nearly as well as industry predictions suggested it would, even factoring in the lowered theatrical ceiling caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. The reboot/sequel opened to an underwhelming $26 million domestic, with international grosses bringing its current worldwide total to only $71 million. The Suicide Squad was by no means a cheap movie to make, with its reported budget falling between $175 and $185 million.
The Suicide Squad may still at least break even before all is said and done, but it seems unlikely to turn a large profit, especially since its HBO Max viewings don't come with an extra premium charge like some new releases do on Disney+. While the various reasons behind The Suicide Squad's box office disappointment will surely continue to be examined as time goes on, one factor that shouldn't be ignored is the absence of Suicide Squad 2016 star Will Smith, one of the most bankable movie stars ever, in the lead role.
Will Smith Was Key To Suicide Squad's Box Office Success
While Suicide Squad had several factors working in its favor at the box office, including it being only the third DCEU movie, the live-action debut of Harley Quinn with A-lister Margot Robbie in the role, and Jared Leto's first appearance as a new Joker, it shouldn't be discounted just how important the presence of Will Smith in a co-lead role was. Beginning with the double-shot of Independence Day in 1996 and Men in Black in 1997, Smith has frequently been a strong performer at the box office, with many movies starring him proving to be big draws. While Smith has had a few flops, most actors do; overall, his movies have been consistent money-makers.
While Smith isn't quite the surefire hit-maker he was once upon a time, his being present can help elevate a project to the next financial level. For evidence of his continuing appeal, one need only look at the runaway success of Bad Boys for Life and Disney's Aladdin remake, or Netflix's urban fantasy film Bright, with its sequel Bright 2 in the works. While Suicide Squad likely would've been a financial success just based on Warner Bros.' massive marketing push, putting Smith's Deadshot in the center of the marketing was key.
Sequels To Will Smith Movies Don't Work Without Will Smith
While the age of the movie star that dominates the box office based on their name alone has mostly gone away, Will Smith is one of the last remaining A-list names that can draw a crowd just by being part of the cast, especially when he's the lead or co-lead. He has that in common with Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson, Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, and a few others. Like fellow mega-star Jim Carrey, Smith also has a tendency to not return for sequels to his hits, providing a clear example of just how much interest tends to drop off without him.
Independence Day: Resurgence brought back every major player involved with the original movie other than Smith, and got awful reviews and sub-par financial returns. Men in Black: International replaced Smith and Tommy Lee Jones with the duo of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, then coming off their popular collaboration in Thor: Ragnarok. Again, awful reviews and audience apathy followed. In other words, it can't be discounted just how big a factor Smith is when it comes to turning movies with potentially so-so scripts into blockbuster hits.
Why Will Smith's Deadshot Didn't Return For The Suicide Squad
As one might imagine, Warner Bros, and DC were keen on having Will Smith return as Deadshot for The Suicide Squad, with their awareness of his box office power undoubtedly a factor in that. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts made Smith's return impossible. The Suicide Squad's filming schedule butted heads with that of King Richard, a biopic about the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams; Smith had been attached to the project for some time.
With James Gunn having Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 coming up after his re-hiring by Disney, it meant that the window he had to make The Suicide Squad was narrower than usual so production couldn't be delayed to allow Smith to come back as Deadshot. Thus, the decision was made to swap out his role in the story with Idris Elba's similar character Bloodsport, leaving the door open for Smith to return to the DCEU at a later juncture.
How Much Did No Deadshot Hurt The Suicide Squad's Box Office?
To be sure, The Suicide Squad's box office disappointment can by no means be solely attributed to the absence of Will Smith as Deadshot. The biggest elephant stomping all over the room is no doubt the sadly ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has kept the financial ceiling of even the biggest movies much, much lower than pre-2020. Still, every industry projection going into the opening weekend of James Gunn's Suicide Squad sequel-reboot-remake (it's arguably all three) estimated a domestic opening take of $30 million. Instead, it earned only $25 million, far from an insignificant drop.
While Idris Elba is an actor that's equally as talented as Smith, his addition to the cast just didn't equate to an equivalent swap in the box office department. Elba is a popular A-lister, and a very respected actor, but his filmography doesn't showcase a track record of big grosses for his projects. That's a shame, as many believe Elba to have delivered a better performance as Bloodsport than Smith did as Deadshot, and Bloodsport's The Suicide Squad story to be an overall better one when compared to Deadshot's. At the end of the day, though, audiences still love seeing Will Smith.
