Why Is ‘Birds of Prey’ Suffering at the Box Office?

The Warner Brothers/DC film Birds of Prey “is proving not to be the February box office success industry observers had hoped,” according to The Wrap: After grossing $13 million on Friday from 4,236 screens, the film is now estimated to earn an opening weekend of $34 million, which would be the lowest start for a DC Comics adaptation since the $5.3 million opening of the box office bomb Jonah Hex in 2010. Heading into the weekend, trackers had been projecting an opening weekend of $55 million while Warner Bros. was more conservative with a $45 million start… Reports on the budget for “Birds of Prey” have varied but have tended to be around $85-95 million. “Oof. That’s not what was wanted or expected,” writes Cinema Blend. First of all, the title probably didn’t help… Second, Birds of Prey is rated R. Suicide Squad, which gave Margot Robbie’s Harley her big showcase, was rated PG-13. As Deadline noted, a lot of young Harley fans — who loved the animated series and Suicide Squad — may have been shut out by that rating… People are also comparing Birds of Prey to Deadpool, which opened to $132,434,639 in February 2016. It may seem like apples to oranges, but they are both R-rated comic book movies opening in February. Here’s a humorous sidenote. At one point in the film, Harley Quinn asks herself what she could’ve done to offend Ewan McGregor’s narcissistic character — with one possible reason appearing for a split-second on the screen: “Voted for Bernie.” “We just snuck it in there,” director Cathy Yan told the Washington Post.