Birds Of Prey Has Worst-Ever Box Office Opening For A DCEU Movie

Birds of Prey opened to a smaller-than-expected box office number that makes it the worst opening ever for a DC Extended Universe film. The movie pulled in $33.2 million in the US for its opening weekend, and that's the lowest-ever for DC's recent film universe. [Update: In response to this, the movie's title has been changed to add the lead character's more recognizable name, thus dubbing it Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.]

It's not the absolute worst of all-time for a DC comic book movie, however as the Josh Brolin 2010 movie Jonah Hex only made $5.3 million for its US opening. But it's the lowest for the DCEU that began in 2013 with Man of Steel. (The Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie, which made more than $1 billion at the box office, is separate from the DCEU).

The Birds of Prey box office opening is well below the $50 million-$55 million it was projected to make, and also below Warner Bros.' own more conservative $45 million figure. Worldwide, Birds of Prey has now made $81.2 million worldwide, which is significantly below the $110 million that Warner Bros. was expecting.

Deadline, which supplied all the box office numbers, reports that Birds of Prey will likely struggle to reach $100 million at the US box office. One finance source told the site, "Overall, it's bad."

Birds of Prey had a $97 million budget, which comes down to $84 million with California's tax credits applied. This does not include marketing expenses, however.

Deadline also reports that the first cut of Birds of Prey "tested really poorly." As such, DC movie executive Walter Hamada ordered reshoots that got the movie in a better place.

Birds of Prey carries an R-rating and it released in February, and both factors could have limited the film's box office results. By comparison, the PG-13 rated Suicide Squad, the film that Birds of Prey is spun off from, made $133 million in the US for its opening weekend during summer 2016.

Birds of Prey's slow start came as a surprise, as the movie fared well with critics and carries a strong B+ CinemaScore rating.

In GameSpot's review of Birds of Prey, Meg Downey said, "It's the sort of kinetic, high energy romp that comes with built-in replay value, and proves exactly why Harley Quinn has become such an endearing, beloved character in the pop-culture pantheon. If this is the direction the DCEU is headed, the future's looking bright."

For more on Birds of Prey, find out more about the ending of the movie, whether or not Joker is in the movie, and the connection to Harley's first appearance in Suicide Squad.