Are More Movie Delays Coming?
The Suicide Squad underperforms bringing a new wave of worries to cineplexes.
You might have heard that the latest Warner Bros. tentpole, The Suicide Squad, underperformed even the most modest of expectations. Although the original film took home an estimated $133.6 million on its opening weekend, it was a critical disaster leaving both critics and audiences disappointed. This new effort, essentially a reboot of the brand by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, took home over $100 million less on its opening weekend. That’s despite scoring a 91% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. That’s a shocking number, but there are certainly a few reasons why.
Number 1 is the Delta Variant. Covid has changed movie-going for a majority of Americans and now a more contagious strand of the virus doesn’t help. Hollywood Reporter has already found that audiences are less likely to go to theaters now, compared to where we were back in June. That’s a compelling reason to stay home and watch entertainment from a multitude of streaming services vying for our dollars. We’ve already seen these numbers being hurt by Covid. All summer we have anecdotal evidence with big franchises that used to bring in the box office dollars, not reaching previous expectations. Movies like F9, Black Widow, and A Quiet Place: Part II all ended up underperforming compared to their predecessors. Now Covid isn’t the only thing that has changed movie-going, and The Suicide Squad had several other issues that might’ve eaten into its opening weekend box office numbers.
I already mentioned that the original Suicide Squad movie, that one directed by David Ayer, was received poorly. This is a brand that already has an image problem. Add in the fact that Gunn’s version is much more violent, R-Rated, gorefest, and selling this movie becomes even more difficult. Another popular argument is that the movie is streaming on HBO Max. Yes, The Suicide Squad is part of that Warner Bros. slate of movies that premiered in theaters and exclusively on HBO Max on the opening weekend. In the Heights opened earlier this summer in the same fashion and that movie did horrendously in theaters, so maybe there is some truth to that opinion. On the other hand, movies like Godzilla vs Kong and Space Jam: A New Legacy did well in this duel release format, so maybe audiences just didn’t want to see The Suicide Squad in theaters.
Another Hollywood Reporter piece mentioned that The Suicide Squad did well on HBO Max, whatever that means. An executive from HBO Max said, “Many chose to do just that as Suicide Squad emerged as the second most-viewed film over an opening weekend on HBO Max since we began day-and-date releases with theaters.”
Perhaps it’s that in 2021, Americans have sought other means for entertainment.
Americans are tired of the rising ticket prices, overpriced food, and obnoxious patrons that litter movie theaters. Many of them would be happier at home, with a select group of friends/family, watching something at their leisure. I imagine the MPAA (Motion Picture Association) rushed all these releases and tried their best to bring audiences back in a big pre-pandemic fashion this summer, but they might’ve been too late. After 17 odd months away from those stuffy cineplexes, audiences have found other means to entertain themselves.
As for movies being delayed? The most notable movie to have moved this summer is the family film, Clifford the Big Red Dog. It was expected to premiere at TIFF and be something families could go see in the theaters together. But without vaccines for children, it’s hard to imagine many families were going to check out this giant puppy. I do wonder though if something the size of The Suicide Squad failing will have other studios pushing movies out further. Is the new James Bond film, No Time to Die, really coming out in 2021?
Some of this is being mitigated by new release plans. Many movies are coming out digitally far earlier than in pre-pandemic times. While the actual dates are varied, anywhere between 21 and 45 days, that’s still far faster than we’re used to. New movies like *Black Widow (digitally available tomorrow, 8/10/21, outside of Disney Premier Access), Fast 9 (already available digitally), or A Quiet Place: Part II (available on Paramount+) have made the leap from theaters to homes. As long as movie theaters stay open, studios will keep their dates and hope that the movies find an audience. Then they can quickly use that same marketing spend and allow audiences to purchase the movies digitally.
We’ll have to see if movies outside of family features like Clifford get moved. And perhaps we should continue to adjust what defines a box office failure in 2021.
(Although Warner Bros. should definitely float the idea of delaying Dune.)