Box Office: 'The Suicide Squad' falls short of expectations

The Suicide Squad  collected $26.5 million from 4,002 North American theaters, according to Reuters.

Those ticket sales of  the R-rated comic book adaptation directed by James Gunn were easily enough to lead domestic box office charts despite falling short of expectations heading into the weekend. 

There were several factors contributing to its less-than-stellar start, including but not limited to growing concern over the Delta variant of COVID-19, the Warner Bros. film’s hybrid release on HBO Max at no extra charge to subscribers, and its R-rating. An opening weekend below $30 million isn’t surprising, given the ongoing pandemic, but it’s disappointing because “The Suicide Squad” cost $185 million to produce and many millions more to promote globally.

At the No. 4 spot, Disney and Marvel’s “Black Widow” pulled in $4 million from 3,100 theaters. The superhero tentpole, starring Scarlett Johansson as the eponymous Avenger, has earned $174 million at the domestic box office and $359 million worldwide. It made at least an additional $60 million on Disney Plus, where it premiered on the same day as its theatrical debut.