After a less-than-spectacular first-day gross of $13 million, THR reports that Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey is finishing this weekend almost $20 million below expectations, with a domestic gross of just $33.3 million.
In the lead-up to the film’s release, the latest DC flick was reportedly tracking to earn at least $50 million in North America over its first three days. Instead, the movie is currently on course for the lowest opening weekend of any DC adaptation since Jonah Hex, which managed just $5.3 million back in 2010.
On top of that, the feature also falls well short of the $53 million debut boasted by last year’s Shazam!, making Birds of Prey the lowest opener of the DC Extended Universe to date. According to THR, the film’s R-rating was a potential factor in the movie’s relatively underwhelming performance, restricting access for much of the DCEU’s teen fanbase. As it is, PostTrak reports that 73% of ticket buyers on Friday were under 25.
The figures are looking similarly disappointing overseas, where Birds of Prey has grossed $48 million, falling short of international forecasts that had the movie tracking at $60 million or more. It’s speculated that the film’s box office numbers were hurt by the coronavirus, which is starting to impact moviegoing in Asian markets outside of China, though it also doesn’t help that Yan’s flick hasn’t secured a China release.
As it stands, the global total for Birds of Prey sits at $81.3 million, which is hardly a disastrous figure given the movie’s estimated budget of $84.5 million. Nonetheless, after a string of misses suffered by Warner Bros. in recent months (Joker being the big exception), you have to imagine that the DC team was hoping for a lot better from Harley Quinn’s fantabulous emancipation.
