Suicide Squad movie coming 2 2

[Bosco685]

Kubo does look interesting though. It could end up as a big surprise.

 

[miraclemet]

So here's my question...

 

Suicide Squad is a success from the standpoint of DC took an unknown property and had it perform like a blockbuster. Up until now they've dealt in IP giants like Superman and Batman, but now they've equaled the success (Im comparing to Man of Steel) with a far less known quantity.

 

But here's my question. Do they owe part of their success to Marvel?

 

I cant help but think that Marvel's wide ranging movie success trained audiences to "believe in" Superhero movies as a genre, so there is now a built in (and very large) audience. Nolan's Batman series also helped, but again Batman is a far better IP than say GotG or Antman.

 

Also I have this theory of "cultural currency" and everything in the cultural zeitgeist is either creating currency (currying favor, increasing buzz/support) or spending currency (essentially using up currency that was built up previously)... once the balance is zero the thing gets rejected by popular culture...

 

Did Suicide Squad create currency or spend it?

[Gatsby77]

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.

[Bosco685]

BOXOFFICEPRO: August 19-21 Weekend Forecast

 

The doldrums of the second half of August are upon us, and this weekend three new wide releases will attempt to flourish at a time when seldom have in recent history. Director Todd Phillips and Warner Bros. will debut War Dogs, Focus Features will bring the latest from award winning stop-motion production company Laika to the big screen; Kubo and the Two Strings, while Paramount / MGM will release a big budget remake of the historical epic Ben-Hur.

 

The first two weekends in August have seen 14 openers with over $40 million at the box office, the rest of the month? None. The high water mark for weekends three through five was Inglourious Basterds way back in 2009 with $38 million. However, just as Suicide Squad showed a couple weekends ago records are meant to be broken and these three new wide releases will hope to do just that.

 

Kubo and the Two Strings

 

PROS:

 

– The film is from the acclaimed production company Laika who are the most successful stop motion animation company ever with a long string of hits including Coraline, Paranorman and The Boxtrolls.

 

– Laika films have been very consistent at the box office with the three aforementioned films opening in the $14-$17 million range. Kubo looks set to slot into that same vicinity which will be a win for all involved given its positive reviews (93% fresh so far on Rotten Tomatoes) which will undoubtedly lead to a strong run over the next few weeks.

 

CONS:

 

– After a long summer of family-targeted releases the demographic might just be saturated, especially with Pete’s Dragon under-performing expectations despite the red hot Disney pushing it.

 

– Its social media numbers are lagging behind Laika’s last film The Boxtrolls which had more than double the tweets on Twitter the same distance from release and almost double the likes on Facebook.

 

Top 10 Forecast

 

BoxOffice Pro forecasts this weekend’s top ten films will generate $120.6 million. That would mark an 41% increase from last year’s $85.4 million when Straight Outta Compton continued to dominate during its second weekend to retain its lead at the box office.

 

- Suicide Squad: $20MM

- War Dogs: $16MM

- Sausage Party: $15.5MM

- Kubo and the Two Strings: $15MM

- Pete’s Dragon: $13.98MM

- Ben-Hur: $13MM

[Turtle]

Stepping away from movie performance and back to movie content for a sec...

 

I thought Margot Robbie did a nice job with Harley. My only gripe was the accent seemed to wax and wane. Sometimes it was very thick, other times it was non-existent. It reminded me of Storm from the very first X-Men movie where the accent was all over the place. Ultimately, Storm's accent was dropped completely in subsequent films.

 

I'm much more a Marvel guy and my knowledge of Harley Quinn as a character is limited to my childhood viewings of Batman: TAS and more recently the Arkham games (which are great!).

 

The question is: what are Harley's skills and abilities? In the Arkham games, she seems to be a competent gymnast, but Batman is able to subdue her with relative ease...easier than common henchmen in at least 1 case. Her danger factor stems from her unpredictable nature, not any type of exceptional physical prowess.

 

So what makes her worth taking into a fight like they did in Suicide Squad? You had trained soldiers with guns and body armor getting taken out by the henchmen in the Suicide Squad movie. Then you've got Harley in a skimpy outfit with a baseball bat holding her own with seemingly little effort.

 

In any media, is she shown to have enhanced traits of any kind? Other than being a fan favorite, is there anything behind the scenes going on that make her good in a fight? Genuine question, I don't know the character well.

[miraclemet]

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)?

 

 

I agree about Kubo, it could surprise... but here's the caveat. It's a 3D Stop Animation movie, those have never done anywhere close to as well as any of the the more traditional (Disney) or more modern (Pixar) styles. Best ever open was Chicken Little at $17m. And the last 5 wide releases in this style did: $11m, $14m, $11m, $17m and $4m opens. I think the style of animation will keep it down... maybe it gets in the upper teens, but it could just as easily be in the low teens.

 

I think most of the 50% drop assumption is in comparing the movie to Man of Steel which had a 65% drop after week one, and then followed it with a 50% drop in week 3. It kept almost all of its theaters, but it probably lost screens and screenings (which isnt tracked) .

 

So Suicide at your typical multiplex with 10-12 screens will go from having 2-3 screens showing the movie every hour (staggerd) in prime time to one screen showing it in a more traditional 2 hr rotation. So same number of theaters, but fewer showings...

 

And remember 2016 is proving to be the most front loaded year ever, so while Superman did a 50% drop 3 years ago, we might see higher drops due to more front loading of the total Suicide Squad audience (and end up closer to 55% like BvS)

[miraclemet]

 

The question is: what are Harley's skills and abilities? ...

 

So what makes her worth taking into a fight like they did in Suicide Squad? You had trained soldiers with guns and body armor getting taken out by the henchmen in the Suicide Squad movie. Then you've got Harley in a skimpy outfit with a baseball bat holding her own with seemingly little effort.

 

.

 

this was one of the logic problems to me with the movie.

 

Waller says with the advent of metas that the government needs their own metas... but they build a team that is only 1/2 metas (Diablo, Croc & Enchantress)... the other half Deadshot, Harley and Boomerang are just people.... yeah they're killing machines, but they'd be useless against Superman or Wonder Woman... it doesnt make sense...

[Turtle]

Enchantress is a bit of a wild card given Superman's weakness to magic in the comics.

 

Let's say Amanda's fear came true and the next "Superman" went rogue. No one on the Suicide Squad poses even a small threat to him. Fire, bullets, a crocodile. Nothing.

 

Weird when you think about it that way.

[miraclemet]

and if you are going to have your own metas, why "recruit" bad guys? why not recruit good guys? (you know, the whole "for country" thing like Captain America)...

 

they should have more explicitly pitched the team as the guys "willing to do things that Superman would say no to" (a'la Gail Simone's Secret Six, which should have been the blueprint for the movie, but instead we got this hot mess.)

[Turtle]

I think I enjoyed the movie more than most reviewers. My expectations were very low going into it. I wouldn't consider it a hot mess, but I do understand people's frustration with it.

 

From what I can tell, the biggest thing that Marvel has that DC lacks in their movies is a clear vision for what they want their movies to be and where they want them to go.

 

DC has some great characters. I'm hoping with Geoff Johns on board, they can get something good going.

[Bosco685]

and if you are going to have your own metas, why "recruit" bad guys? why not recruit good guys? (you know, the whole "for country" thing like Captain America)...

 

they should have more explicitly pitched the team as the guys "willing to do things that Superman would say no to" (a'la Gail Simone's Secret Six, which should have been the blueprint for the movie, but instead we got this hot mess.)

 

Remember, Amanda Waller made it clear the reason for the bad guys was so the government could claim ignorance of their actions if they had to do things 'heroes' couldn't or wouldn't do.

 

The intent of Suicide Squad goes back to The Brave and the Bold #25 (September 1959) and Legends #3 (January 1987).

 

The Suicide Squad initiative functions as an unorthodox work release program, which explains why many of the DC Universe's super-villains remain perpetually on the loose—regardless of how many occasions they are apprehended and incarcerated for their latest crimes. The modern incarnation, the Suicide Squad, is an antihero "strike team" of incarcerated, death row super-villains. Acting as deniable, covert assets of the United States government, it undertakes high-risk, black-ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences. The group operates out of Belle Reve Penitentiary under the directorship of Amanda Waller.

 

[Gatsby77]

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).

 

[Bosco685]

Box Office Guru updates.

 

[CBT]

It's still behind night at the museum and my big fat greek wedding, for domestic box office take, while playing on far, far more screens (making a lot less per theatre).

 

Don't see anyway it could make it to $300M, as that would be a further gain of another 33% of its total, or 50% of the front loaded opening.

 

That's VERY wishful thinking.

[Gatsby77]

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.

[Bosco685]

‘Suicide Squad’ Shoots Past $500M At Worldwide Box Office

 

Turns out 13 is a lucky number for the Suicide Squad gang. After ending their second weekend with $466M worldwide, the crew zipped past the $500M milestone at the global box office on Day 13 of release. With a total $509M, the film will help drive the overall August box office to a record high. At release two weeks ago, it became the biggest-ever August opener both domestically and abroad. It is currently the No. 11 movie of the year globally, and should jump up a couple of spots this weekend.

 

The North American box office total now stands at more than $238M and overseas the cume is $271M. The David Ayer-directed DC adaptation will add German-speaking markets this weekend and is likely to hang onto the top spot on the international charts for the third frame in a row. Sue Kroll, President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, noted today, “The film is in position for another terrific weekend as our overseas expansion continues.”

[Bosco685]

Well, that went up fast in only one day.

 

 

 

 

Just from Domestic Box Office alone if this film does $5.25MM daily Wednesday through Saturday (it is averaging $5.6MM right now), it crosses the $500MM mark.

 

Germany opening this week could be a nice bump. Even for Apocalypse, that market brought in $9MM to date. Deadpool did $24.6MM. So quite the strong contributor to any movie's total.

 

Guess I was off by three days.

 

 

[paperheart]

It's still behind night at the museum and my big fat greek wedding, for domestic box office take, while playing on far, far more screens (making a lot less per theatre).

 

Don't see anyway it could make it to $300M, as that would be a further gain of another 33% of its total, or 50% of the front loaded opening.

 

That's VERY wishful thinking.

 

don't see any way it doesn't get to $300MM domestic if it does anything remotely close to $20MM this weekend. post it's 3rd weekend, GOTG did another $110MM domestic; SS would only have to add another $40MM or so to get there. given that Labor Day weekend shows little drop off from the prior weekend, looks like a sure thing.

Edited August 18, 2016 by paperheart

[rjrjr]

Well, that went up fast in only one day.

 

 

 

 

Just from Domestic Box Office alone if this film does $5.25MM daily Wednesday through Saturday (it is averaging $5.6MM right now), it crosses the $500MM mark.

 

Germany opening this week could be a nice bump. Even for Apocalypse, that market brought in $9MM to date. Deadpool did $24.6MM. So quite the strong contributor to any movie's total.

 

Guess I was off by three days.

 

 

 

This movie will pass The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America: Winter Soldier domestically this weekend. Next up is Man of Steel.

Edited August 18, 2016 by rjrjr

[Bosco685]

This movie will pass The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America: Winter Soldier domestically this weekend. Next up is Man of Steel.

 

Even with inflated dollars, it already passed up worldwide one of my favorite Marvel Studios movies.