"Suicide Squad" Opens Big, But With A Catch

Suicide Squad is also easily a record debut for everyone else involved, including writer-director David Ayer, as well as co-stars Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, and Viola Davis.

Insofar as major box office returns signify a film's popularity, Suicide Squad's record-setting debut suggests a vindication of sorts for those fans.

But looking at the daily grosses for the film indicates that the film's bad reviews, and the less-than-effusive word-of-mouth suggested by the "B+" rating from audience polling film CinemaScore, have already had an adverse impact on the movie's bottom line.

Movies with strong built-in fan bases tend to follow a pattern of a massive Friday debut followed by a significant drop for the rest of the weekend. But when compared with recent popular superhero movies, Suicide Squad's drop still stands out. (The film's 20% drop from Saturday to Sunday is based on estimated grosses for Sunday, and could vary significantly once final figures are released.)

The first full day of the Summer Olympics certainly also contributed to Suicide Squad's poor showing on Saturday, but given the depressed ratings for the Olympics so far, it was likely not a major factor.

By contrast, Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool — movies which were both widely well-received by audiences — enjoyed mild drops from Friday to Saturday. Deadpool's grosses even went slightly up on Sunday, in part because that day was also Valentine's Day.

Suicide Squad's lopsided debut and lack of direct competition through August pretty well guarantees it will be a hit — but whether it will become one of the year's major blockbusters remains to be seen.