“Suicide Squad” Hits the Mark with Record-Setting Debut

By Kip Mooney • On • In News, Weekend Box Office Report News, Weekend Box Office Report 0

BOX OFFICE REPORT

August 5-7, 2016

(estimates from BoxOfficeMojo.com)

TOP 5

Suicide Squad $135.1 million
Jason Bourne $22.7 million
Bad Moms $14.2 million
The Secret Life of Pets  $11.5 million
Star Trek Beyond $10.2 million

 

Despite taking a critical thrashing, Suicide Squad set a record for August debuts with an estimated $135.1 million. That's even more than Deadpool took in during its massive opening weekend in February. (Here's where I point out that it's clear a more appropriate R rating wouldn't have hurt this movie's box office one bit.) Still, given DC's troubles, it's likely Suicide Squad takes a massive drop in Week Two and doesn't have the legs to make it a world-beater like Civil War. This also marks former box office behemoth Will Smith's best opening ever. He had a slew of No. 1 weekends before a four-year hiatus and a series of missteps led him to taking a role in a risky ensemble movie instead of playing the definitive lead. That gamble paid off big time.

Jason Bourne took a pretty disastrous tumble. Falling more than 60 percent, it's still going to top Legacy and Identity, but won't touch Supremacy or Ultimatum either domestically or worldwide. Can I suggest – or beg, really – that Bourne teams up with Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) for the sequel? And maybe give writing duties back to Tony Gilroy?

Bad Moms held very steady and will become one of this summer's sleeper hits. Cheaper than any non-horror studio movie this summer, it's already made a big return on its investment and will play better over the long-term than some more "of the moment" movies. But no movie held up better this season than The Secret Life of Pets, which made adorable animals its focus and rode that all the way to become  summer's third-biggest movie (behind Finding Dory and Captain America: Civil War).

But that's not the case with Star Trek Beyond. This franchise might really be in trouble. It barely crossed $125 million in three weeks. Its international grosses are weak, and despite good reviews is sinking fast. I really like this series (yes, even Into Darkness), but Paramount needs to be strategic if the fourth film – already announced and starring Chris Hemsworth – goes through.

Outside the top 5:

  • Equity, the Wall Street thriller starring Anna Gunn (aka Skyler White from Breaking Bad). In its second weekend, it averaged $18,887 on its four screens.
  • Nine Lives (yes, the movie from an Oscar-winning director starring Kevin Spacey as a talking cat), opened at No. 6. It only took in $6.5 million.
  • A lot of weirdos (like me) really turned up for John Waters' Multiple Maniacs re-release. Playing on only one screen in New York, it earned $10,244.

Next week:

Pete's Dragon looks to swoop in, but I think Suicide Squad holds on to No. 1, but still falls to around $48 million. Pete's will be No. 2, but Sausage Party will have a strong No. 3 with around $20 million.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

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