Gatsby77

Yeah - but winning the August box office is kinda' like being the 2nd-tallest person in Japan. At least it didn't lose its 3rd weekend to a Melissa McCarthy movie...

Huh. Half-white, half-black -- oh, right. Like Vin Diesel!

Can't believe this has been out a month & I only came across it now - the Honest Trailer. It's a masterpiece of spot-on criticism:

Exactly. I almost posted again just to point out the Rosario Dawson / Night Nurse one. Or the Michael Clarke Duncan Kingpin (again - there were problems with this movie -- his casting was not one of them) But to me so far, the casting of Welsh Christian Bale as Batman & Latina Jessica Alba as Sue Storm take the cake. No one complained about any of these. And I'll bet you right now nobody will care about the absurd racial switch if we get Vin Diesel playing Black Bolt.

Check the photo in the link. This MJ is clearly still a redhead. And that's no more ridiculous than the blonde wig & blue contacts they slapped on Jessica Alba's (Hispanic) Sue Storm.

Well put. And I don't buy the "changes for the sake of changes" argument, particularly as we transition to a) a different era than that one in which Stan Lee, Jack Kirby & others were creating, and b) to a different medium. "Fidelity to the source material" is BS: Spider-Man's organic web-shooters in the Raimi trilogy were the same sort of "needless change" that ended up streamlining the story a bit (and its believability -- ie., harder for me to believe that Peter Parker could invent them himself than inherit the power from the spider bite -- same reason I defend the Disney retcon that he inherits the tech from Tony Stark). Watchmen was _vastly_ improved by removing the idiotic squid. Catwoman (as another example) was a mess movie that had precisely zero to do with Halle Berry's being cast in the role. Back to my first point -- if the Marvel Universe were created today, it would have _far_ more diversity than it did when it was created in the pre-Civil Rights era. Because the country is different now. Folks are free to think otherwise, but I hope they are aware of the extent to which such knee-jerk reactions against race-blind casting decisions (be they PC or not) makes them sound like nothing but racists.

Not surprised. Ben-Hur had a better trailer than I expected, but it already had a definitive remake 16 years ago when it was called Gladiator.

Yeah. So did FF. But the race of Johnny Storm and Electro had exactly zero bearing on the suckage. And, in Suicide Squad, Will Smith was one of the (very) few good parts of that entire movie (which sucked donkey balls).

Who cares if they change Shocker's ethnicity? They already changed Electro's. Heck, I actually have no idea whether the original Shocker in the comics is white or black. Ditto, I had to literally look up Deadshot's current ethnicity in DC continuity since the only time I've seen him without his mask on was in Batman # 59, where he's clearly white. (Spoiler: Deadshot's still white.) Did anyone give a rat's that Deadshot was black in Suicide Squad? Or (really) that Nick Fury was black?

That's a true statement. And it goes to why domestic box office is far more an important figure in profitability than the international. (And why, for instance, Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a failure even at $757 million worldwide.) It's only in _very_ rare cases that the international box office is so lopsided relative to domestic that it _really_ matters (like Terminator Genysis - first film to do $400 million plus worldwide while making less than $100 million domestic). Also, China's the worst offenders, typically granting studios only a 25% cut. Since it's not a factor here, the studio cut of the whole international market is going to be larger.

Agree. I stand by my prior prediction of $280-295, just shy of $300 domestic. Although I concede there's still a chance, given that there are no real blockbusters debuting this week or next, and some kids are still out of school for the next two weeks. Still - Guardians this is not, even if it's still running ahead of that film. Hopefully it will crash swiftly under the collective crush of the small-to-mid-sized releases. Me? I'm still most excited about some true adult fare in last week's Hell or High Water & this week's Imperium.

Yeah - but that was one of my issues with it. The conception of the Suicide Squad (or the Dirty Dozen movie, a decade later) is not really different from the Bond movies' depiction of MI-6's 00 program or that of the Mission Impossible teams. In all cases it's understood that the operations are off-book and, should they go south, they'll be disavowed. Heck - from what I can gather from the trailers, that's the same fundamental premise of this weekend's War Dogs as well. Point is, given the many ways for governments (including our own) to recruit for and execute such black ops, the "it has to be bad guys" excuse was weak. To say nothing of Waller's admission near films' end that because they all are facing multiple life sentences, they'll basically never be free. That's idiotic, as it removes any incentive they have to ever work for Waller again. The one ray of light I see for a potential sequel is the ability to bring in other members at will, crafting mission-specific task forces whose membership changes with each film (a la the Mission Impossible movies, even though Luther's somehow a constant every time).

I think Kubo & the Two Strings will surprise to the upside & (barely) outdo Suicide Squad this weekend. Also, how much of the projected 50% drop is systemic (i.e., how many screens will Suicide Squad lose this weekend)? Not that it will lose the full 1,200 screens required to put it below Kubo's, but while it will likely still be on the most screens of any film in current release, it'll be a lot closer in number to the three big new releases.

I can't vouch for the source because it's 3rd hand, but trending on my Facebook feed right now is the headline "Jared Leto reportedly feels he was tricked into doing Suicide Squad," which he had been led to believe was to be more of an "artistic" production. All the articles point back to Tumblr, where a fan purportedly summarized what he said to fans at his concert last night. Think it's the same ultimate source as the previously-discussed "F--k em" comment. Even if it's all bunk, that it's been picked up by multiple legit news sources & is trending on Facebook is significant. At a certain point, perception Trumps (haha!) reality. I also personally think that Leto cares so little about Hollywood and his standing as an actor that he'd actually say stuff like this if that's how he feels.

I disagree. Given the track record of the last 3 films, I doubt even Disney would risk a $220-$250 production budget on FF. And I don't see any studio being able to do a live action version justice for $140-$180 million or so. I mean, even the X-Men franchise is in trouble. Seriously: Apocalypse did $80 million less domestic and ~$220 million less internationally overall than did Days / Future Past. Given that a $700 million Spider-Man movie led Sony to cancel & re-boot the franchise, when an X-Men movie is pulling it Ant-Man numbers and can't even hit $550 million, there's a problem.

Not sure why the author is posting a review at this late a date but it made me chuckle: http://www.encorepub.com/big-budget-con-job-suicide-squad-is-beyond-flawed-and-below-average/ "In the hands of an editor not working through a nine-day coke binge “Suicide Squad” maybe could have been better than average. As is, it’s one hell of a big-budget con job."

Yeah - that Leto rape stuff seems off-topic to me. As does the comparison of Leto's Joker to Bernthal's Punisher to begin with - two totally different formats, vastly different characters and (most importantly) hugely different screen time. Give Leto's Joker as many scenes as the Punisher received across an entire season of Daredevil and you can _begin_ to evaluate the relative merits. I like both actors, although Bernthal is only beginning to enjoy the limelight and stretch his acting muscles. Whereas Leto has consciously shaped his career by selectively choosing brave indy roles a la Daniel Day Lewis or a pre-Pirates Johnny Depp. Prefontaine Fight Club Girl, Interrupted American Psycho Requiem for a Dream Chapter 27 Dallas Buyers Club These aren't safe, let alone mainstream, choices for an actor who was a teen idol who could easily have gone the River Phoenix / Leonardo DiCaprio blockbuster route of skating by on his looks.

True - the comparison isn't exact because it doesn't include Nolan's first two Batman movies, whereas it does include Marvel from 2008 on. And Bosco - the Forbes article I quoted was different than yours. In mine the point was _precisely_ that Suicide Squad's 67% drop now forms enough of a trend line to show that DC movies (including Dark Knight Rises but perhaps excluding Batman Begins & the Dark Knight) drop ~67% on second weekend vs. Marvel movies dropping ~57% (including the Disney, X-Men & Hulk films -- although for some reason he excludes the Spider-Man ones). Either way, I think all of us should read another piece he published today, "Dear Suicide Squad Fans: You Deserved a Better Movie." http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2016/08/15/dear-suicide-squad-fans-you-deserved-a-better-movie/#711f6d481266 He echoes my thoughts nearly entirely, but the overall point of this piece is, if we have entered a new era of Hollywood blockbuster film-making whereby _every_ tentpole opens big & experiences a huge drop in the second weekend, then quality doesn't matter so Marvel & DC have no reason _not_ to go with auteur directors and _truly_ make these films for the die-hard fans (a la, by my lights, Watchmen, Blade 2, etc.). "...there is no reason for a studio to try to make a version other than the one the filmmakers wanted to make. If you aren’t going to get the post-opening legs anyway, you’re better off releasing the more tonally and narratively coherent version. Suicide Squad is a huge hit, but now Warner Bros. is on the defensive regarding its reputation as a filmmaker-friendly studio." "I don’t know if a specifically “for the fans” Suicide Squad movie would have been better or performed better beyond its superb opening weekend. But if legs aren’t an issue, then there is no reason for the studio not to allow the filmmakers it hires a certain amount of discretion. Moreover, the theatrical film was not “for the fans,” but rather a compromised product that came about as a result of studio panic and short sightedness. As someone who grew up with DC Comics and devoured every book, movie, or cartoon I could get my hands on, all I want is a DC Films universe that is better than the one we’ve got. Come what may, the fans deserve a better class of superhero movie." Amen

Yes - but there's also a now-consistent difference in the expected / average 2nd-weekend drops between Marvel & DC movies (of 57% vs. 67%). I'm not trying to stoke a DC vs. Marvel fire here as I want great movies from both but: "The Marvel Cinematic Universe movies usually drop 55-60% on the second weekend. Be they released by Paramount/Viacom Inc., Universal, or Walt Disney, are remarkably consistent offerings, except for MCU movies (The Avengers, Iron Man, Thor) that fall closer to 50% on weekend two. Comparatively for DC Comics, we’ve had Watchmen (-67.7% in weekend two), Jonah Hex (69.7%), Green Lantern (-66.1%), The Dark Knight Rises (-61.4%), Man of Steel (-67.9% using the full $128m opening weekend), Batman v Superman (-69.1%), and now Suicide Squad (-67.2%). That’s a very different kind of consistency, especially if you remove Chris Nolan’s Batman finale from the equation. The DC movies are not playing like the MCU or a general audiences franchise. They are playing like Twilight Saga sequels. As long as they are budgeted with that expectation in mind, with a fan-fueled mega-opener followed by a quick fade, that’s okay." Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2016/08/14/box-office-suicide-squad-tumbles-67-for-43-77m-weekend/#444f6c474f83

1) I thought it would fall harder than BvS's 69.1%. I was wrong. 2) Not every film needs a Director's Cut. My case for this is Donnie Darko. The Director's Cut dumbed down the film significantly by over-explaining how the time travel worked. Took the audience for . Respect your audience. Mostly by releasing the "good version" of the film the first time, studio interference or not.

I'm not so sure Suicide Squad was "made for fans." If that were true, we here on these boards (i.,e, the most diehard comic book fans on the planet) wouldn't have been so split about it.

I like that he's not (necessarily) casting a big name for Skeletor. I mean, was Joseph Gordon-Levitt really necessary for Cobra Commander?

This. What JayT said. I was responding primarily to Bosco's: To me, the parallel to Guardians is clear because it was _exactly_ a "throwaway group of characters that only 'fanboys' could appreciate." Despite that, a huge reason Suicide Squad opened on more screens than Guardians is its heavy duty star power in Batman, The Joker, Jared Leto, and Viola Davis (who has an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy & headlines one of the best TV shows of the last 5 years). Those four elements bring much more box office cache (and "worldwide recognized brand") among the general public than does the first big-screen appearance Harley Quinn, regardless of how hot Margot Robbie is.

JayT's right here. Although the team itself was largely unknown, Suicide Squad had a _much_ stronger brand from the jump -- with Batman, The Joker, Will Smith, and Oscar heavyweights Jared Leto and Viola Davis, than did Guardians of the Galaxy. The closest Guardians of the Galaxy came to that trifecta of star power was that Rocket Raccoon was voiced by a pre-American Sniper Bradley Cooper.

Yeah, so yesterday's take was $1.7 million ahead of Batman v. Superman's first Wednesday, and $1.2 million ahead of Deadpool's. Given how hard it fell (percentage-wise) in its first three days, I think this is the "teenagers out of school" differential, rather than any indicator of long-term legs.