Birds of Prey BoP Box Office Thread

[Invader Joker]

That's why I'm not even saying they should get rid of the Shazam sequels, or they shouldn't make BoP spin-offs and sequels. Just that... when they do, keep a better eye on what your newcomer filmmakers do. These brands obviously have potential if they got good reviews and at the bare minimum didn't bomb, but you kinda have to be more careful with the next one to ensure their success, otherwise they're on extremely shaky ground that guarantees that at another point they'll misfire again and these films won't live up to their full potential.

 

[Black Narcissus]

That's why I'm not even saying they should get rid of the Shazam sequels, or they shouldn't make BoP spin-offs and sequels. Just that... when they do, keep a better eye on what your newcomer filmmakers do. These brands obviously have potential if they got good reviews and at the bare minimum didn't bomb, but you kinda have to be more careful with the next one to ensure their success, otherwise they're on extremely shaky ground that guarantees that at another point they'll misfire again and these films won't live up to their full potential.

Well, unless you put your money where it counts, you just seem to be punching from an ''I told you'' type of view. Since, you already admitted to not going to see this at all.

In all seriousness, this the type of cbm variety/more weird choices the genre needs. It would be a shame if it doesn't make a profit.

 

[Invader Joker]

Unperformed doesn't mean bombing tho. What, you think WB and co' are just going to make a sequel to Shazam out of the goodness in their hearts? No, tis' happening cause it made a profit. It might not have been that ''magic number'' for some, but more than enough to merit a sequel. Same thing will hopefully happen with this as the quality and over all film experience deserves more money.

If we talkin film wise experience, Jenkins had only directed one film prior to WW. Sandberg had directed two flicks before Shazam. If anything, this benefited from the studio/producers giving Cathy Yan all the freedom she needed, this could not have worked with a pg13 rating.

Here's the thing, the gals delivered, but their marketing team has landed a bit short imo, now its up to word of mouth and the benefit that nothing really noteworthy is coming in the next two weeks or so.

Well, that's why I added the asterisk that Geoff Johns who was essentially one of the people in command over at DC Films was along for the ride with WW, helping with the script and what not. But even then I have to add that Jenkins has been active in the industry since 1995. Maybe not directing, but she has done some other stuff and she's been around.

Sandberg and Yan on the other hand have only been active since 2010 making small films.

And I'm not sure marketing is the problem here. All the reviews I've seen say that the marketing represented the movie quite well, and that if you liked the trailers you'll like the movie. And I've seen a bunch of ads for this movie, a bunch of posters, etc. I mean, they've made sure that people are aware of it and its wacky/fun tone. Heck, I'd say the same with Shazam.

Marketing is always the easy scapegoat in cases like this, but sadly I don't think that's the only factor.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Heh, which is why I said film wise type of experience. Jenkins hadn't touched a film set in 13 years. Being around a long time means jack when it comes to ya know, actually hands on film directing. Yes, I'm very aware she still did a episodes from series here or there, but not the same pressure as the film machine. No, I'm not blaming it all on marketing , but sometimes the box lady isn't so predictable, sometimes good movies just don't hit as they should. The first John Wick flick didn't really set the box office on fire either, but it made enough for sequels, and has grown in bo numbers with each one. Sometimes a total turd like Venom just comes out at the right place and makes over 800 million dollars.

 

[Invader Joker]

Heh, which is why I said film wise type of experience. Jenkins hadn't touched a film set in 13 years. Being around a long time means jack when it comes to ya know, actually hands on film directing.

I mean, she was still working tho. And also she had Geoff Johns, one of the top DC guys, along for the ride for Wonder Woman so it's not like she was completely on her own. She didn't /exactly/ receive 100% creative control, but she received enough. I think the same should be done here, Sandberg and Yan should be given enough creative control to make good films that speak to them, but still guide them through certain choices to make the general audience more interested in their films. They should be given "enough" control, not "full".

Even Nolan didn't have full creative control for Batman Begins.

 

[jmc]

I can hardly say I'm surprised at how things are turning out, because I've never believed Harley Quinn was as big a draw as what WB thought she was, and it looks like now they are finding that out. This film may very well be a fun romp, but it's been clear from the very beginning the audience for this was going to be extremely niche. Maybe it picks up a cult following in the years to come, who knows. Given they didn't spend much on this this will simply be marked as a lesson of what not to do in the future. What should be more concerning for WB is the fact I do think SS played a role in people not coming out also, which is not good news for the James Gunn movie.

 

[Invader Joker]

TSS will be fine. James Gunn seems to have a really good eye for making blockbuster films that appeal and interest people, hence why Kevin Feige trusted him so much and gave him a lot of freedom in the Guardians films, which paid off.

 

[jmc]

The difference being is the name association. It may very well be a 'reboot' of sorts, but it's still following in that films footsteps. This Harley Quinn movie underperforming is a really bad sign for that movie which will no doubt cost significantly more. There's no doubt in my mind WB would have expected this to earn far more than it's likely to now. They put too much faith in the Harley Quinn name, and frankly Margot Robbie's drawing power to bring people in. And no-one can say there wasn't marketing, this film was marketed everywhere. It's just the film was never marketed to anyone in particular. But again, I'm not 100% surprised. HQ is a character who is loved by cosplayers and weirdos who romanticise her relationship with Joker. But the character being known doesn't translate to the character being loved.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Well, if this opens anywhere near 50 mill, I'd say them weirdos showed up. Not bad for an R. Eh.

 

[jmc]

WB better be hoping for a lot of weirdos, lol.

 

[Greenlite]

Seriously I’d rather have this making 30-40M profit with its R rating and full creative freedom and making enough to get sequels and spin offs, than flatline cookie cutters with ratings that filmmakers didn’t aim for or handcuff them and make either 100M+ profit or losses.

Like making 3 small low risk films in a row with one of them making a billion and winning awards is not a bad plan right now.

They still have the family orientated Wonder Woman coming out this year that will satisfy certain fans’ hunger to see 1 billion dollar b.o.

I mean it should have done better financial wise but you can blame the CCP for hiding the outbreak in Asia and the marketing not quite hitting the sweet spot, but it set up a good foundation to do what Shazam verse is doing, get a superstar onboard, if they generate interest with casting with Ivy or Barbara pairing up with Margot that could help the sequels

Or they could just continue making small profit while having funky director driven films, I don’t mind, as long as WB are contend with that, it’s like some of us have shares in WB or something, lol

 

[jmc]

I agree to an extent. The problem still remains that this film didn't know exactly what it was selling. Deadpool and Joker gave a pretty good idea of what type of film we were getting, and more importantly, who it was marketing towards. It's all well and good to make a cheap superhero based movie, but you've still got to know who it is your movie is for. It comes back to that fundamental question - who was this movie appealing to exactly? Comic book fans? Nothing about this looked anything like what fans would want Birds of Prey to be. Men? Well, normally this would be a slam dunk but the characters were intentionally made to be less 'male gazey', so that's half your audience affected. Women? The trailers didn't really show anything I can see as having anything appealing towards ladies, because they simply don't show up to action movies to the same degree. Teens? In theory it would attract that crowd, but you've made the film R rated, meaning a lot won't be able to see it. So what you end up with is a film that may very well be a fun time, but you've put so many obstacles in its way that prevents it from finding an audience. So, I hope the right lessons are learned from this. Spend less on the movies, by all means, but know who your audience is.

 

[DlAMONDZ]

TSS has nothing going for it. No name characters that nobody cares about. It might be a reboot but it'll still be viewed as a follow up to the first one. Not to mention WB's marketing game isn't what it used to be.

The problem is the DC brand. It doesn't have the kind of pull you'd think after a couple of well made movies. And that's on WB. Not putting the DC logo in front of Shazam or Joker is a huge wtf

 

[bapi]

Well i was deffo expecting 55-65M OW so under 40M would be very dissapointing. With 85M production budget they probably need 270-300M WW to move forward with Sirens or whatever.

And honestly it seems like a combination of more factors: 1) nobody really likes SS1 2) new WB leadership's trying to spend less on marketing so shorter, less visible campaigns 3) female-led action franchise movie don't do well 4) production budget should have been somewhere beetwen 40-60.

 

[bapi]

TSS has nothing going for it. No name characters that nobody cares about. It might be a reboot but it'll still be viewed as a follow up to the first one. Not to mention WB's marketing game isn't what it used to be.

The problem is the DC brand. It doesn't have the kind of pull you'd think after a couple of well made movies. And that's on WB. Not putting the DC logo in front of Shazam or Joker is a huge wtf

Tbh I can see Shazam2 to drop from S1 unless Black Adam makes 600+ and we then see Dwayne as S2 main villain.
Yeah, TSS with that C-list cast, R-rating and probably 100-140M budget doesn't look good.

 

[jmc]

TSS has nothing going for it. No name characters that nobody cares about. It might be a reboot but it'll still be viewed as a follow up to the first one. Not to mention WB's marketing game isn't what it used to be.

The problem is the DC brand. It doesn't have the kind of pull you'd think after a couple of well made movies. And that's on WB. Not putting the DC logo in front of Shazam or Joker is a huge wtf

That's the problem they are going to have to deal with next. I hate to say it, but I'd argue strongly now that it may not be the worst idea to rename TSS to something else completely in order to give it a better chance of success.

 

[Beatnation]

The trailers were really underwhelming, I guess that's a big part why people isn't showing up, but let's see. It maybe got fantastic legs.

Also not really liking the late marketing strategy on WB films in general since Hamada take the reins.

 

[bapi]

The trailers were really underwhelming, I guess that's a big part why people isn't showing up, but let's see. It maybe got fantastic legs.

Also not really liking the late marketing strategy on WB films in general since Hamada take the reins.

I think overall WB want to make everything cheaper. Some of their biggest movies had marketing / distribution budget close to 200M and crazy production budget as well. First Squad was a 175-200M movie but I doubt Reeves Batman costs more than 140-160.

 

[Greenlite]

I wouldn't say TSS has a c list cast tho, lol, Idris Elba and Margot Robbie, with Viola Davis....and James Gunn is a name, and his supporters will show up for the sake of it since its his first film back, tho that budget looks way too high lol

 

[Omegabat]

The aesthetic is definitely a huge turn off for me. I hate the Schumacher films with a passion and this reminds me of those.

The costumes are trash too. It's not about being sexy. Its about conveying what the character is. Black Canary has a biker theme, Harley has a clown theme, Huntress has a female Batman theme. I do not see those themes reflected in those attires. Cassandra Cain was a legit Batgirl but here she's...something lol.

 

[jmc]

The aesthetic is definitely a huge turn off for me. I hate the Schumacher films with a passion and this reminds me of those.

The costumes are trash too. It's not about being sexy. Its about conveying what the character is. Black Canary has a biker theme, Harley has a clown theme, Huntress has a female Batman theme. I do not see those themes reflected in those attires. Cassandra Cain was a legit Batgirl but here she's...something lol.

The look of the character does matter. What’s been baffling to me is just how far removed from the comics the films have made Harley. No-ones asking for identical costumes, but is it that bloody hard to make her look like, you know, an actual harlequin? I don’t think this is too much to ask. Even Joker, as removed as it is from its genre, still managed to make the costume work. But it’s not just the fact the costumes bare no resemblance to the comics, they are just terrible designs in general. Who on earth thought these were good designs?

 

[COCOS]

lets be real,most movies centered around girls, doesn't attract alot of people in cinema.....man are not thristy for female actions movies ,like girls are thirsty to see jason momoa or robert pattinson play a Hero on screen,

if this movie bombs, its a damn shame, because theres alot of potential with it ,
some gonna talk about the casting, & why its important to have well know actresses to back u up & not carry u movie on ur Own like margot did, but iron man himself just flopped terribly. with dollitle

its mean no one safe anymore, u just gotta hope people show up to see ur film & the word of mouth spread

 

[TheGuy]

The look of the character does matter. What’s been baffling to me is just how far removed from the comics the films have made Harley. No-ones asking for identical costumes, but is it that bloody hard to make her look like, you know, an actual harlequin? I don’t think this is too much to ask. Even Joker, as removed as it is from its genre, still managed to make the costume work. But it’s not just the fact the costumes bare no resemblance to the comics, they are just terrible designs in general. Who on earth thought these were good designs?

Have you seen the movie? Cause all I've seen you in here is complain about some costume that doesn't look like the comics. Lol. I'm not as big on the movie as some here. I think the movie is okay at best due to the writing. The only complaint before the movie was released that I found legitimate is the movie's title. Like I've said before here, Harley Quinn is the type of character that bends clothing style and would rock any form of them, even if it deviates from the comics. Harley's costume for BoP works well here. She broke up with Joker and has to work for her own, what do you expect?

 

[brandeezy89]

I highly doubt putting them in outfits that look like this would move the BO much.

People are really overestimating the popularity of the BOP alone. I was reading a review yesterday that basically said the BOP are TV level characters who are only on the big screen because Harley is big enough to bring them along.

 

[Omegabat]

It's not about popularity or source material accuracy. If I was not familiar with these characters then I would have legit no clue what I looking at after viewing these character. Simple biker gear is enough for Canary. Margot looks like Margot in a silly dress. Heath and Phoenix disappeared under that make up.

Simply put, my impression of the film from the marketing was that this is spiritual successor to the Schumacher films led by Margot playing a crazy girl and her sidekicks.