The newest entry into the DCEU, “The Suicide Squad,” debuted to an estimated $26.5 million domestic haul on its opening weekend. It took in another $45.7 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $72.2 million. For a pandemic debut and a simultaneous release on HBO Max, the gross of “The Suicide Squad” wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was lower than expected. Even the rave reviews for “The Suicide Squad” couldn’t give it enough of a boost to top the debut of “Jungle Cruise,” which debuted to around $9 million more just a week prior. Perhaps the simultaneous release on HBO Max led more to stay home and watch it as a part of their subscription, or maybe there is still a bad taste in the mouth of some moviegoers from the similarly-titled 2016 movie, “Suicide Squad.”
On the subject of “Jungle Cruise,” it had a solid weekend despite a 55% drop from its debut weekend. It made another $15,693,000 million at the domestic box office, pushing it past $65 million domestically and $121 million worldwide.
M. Night Shyamalan’s newest feature, “Old,” fell another 39.7% in its third weekend, only making $4,140,000 domestically. “Black Widow” took in a similar amount in its fifth weekend, making $4,007,000 as its theatrical release seems to be beginning to wind down.
The Matt Damon-led “Stillwater” made $2,860,000 this weekend, putting its gross at an even $10 million thus far. “The Green Knight” took a steeper drop in its second weekend, a 61.8% drop resulting in a $2,596,000 gross. Word-of-mouth has not been kind to A24’s newest release. Its total gross has only been $12,167,727.
At fourteenth place at the box office was indie release “Nine Days.” The film stars Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, and Bill Skarsgárd. It grossed $235,772 in its second weekend after a very limited debut the week prior.
Coming next weekend are three big theatrical releases that will dig into the earnings of “The Suicide Squad.” “Free Guy,” starring Ryan Reynolds as a “non-playable character” in a video game who sets out to save his world. “Respect,” the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson as the legendary singer will be debuting, and finally, the sequel to 2016’s “Don’t Breathe,” “Don’t Breathe 2,” is coming for those who have a horror craving. Not to mention, “Coda,” an Apple TV+ release and one of the best films of the year, is also debuting on the streaming service.
