Is DC About to Re-Ignite Their Cinematic Universe?
This weekend sees the release, finally, of Suicide Squad, the third entry in the DC Cinematic Universe, following Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). All eyes are on this film, and it could mean one of two things for Warner Bros.: either another blunder in their films or a re-start that will refuel their efforts going forward. While I’m personally dying to see the film, there are a couple of factors here and there that are giving me some thoughts. While these are not monumental flaws leading up to the week of release, they do give me something to stew over.
First off, why announce that The Flash is in the film? I’m not sure what involvement he could have, and supposedly the movie’s about the bad guys, as Will Smith reminds us in the advertisements. I’m not saying just because he’s in the movie it will automatically damage it, but it seems a curious choice to announce it so close to the release. So we are left to speculate one of two ways in which The Flash appears, either as a short cameo, or as a surprise supporting role. I’m more in line to believe the former for a couple of reasons. First off, the re-shoots from this Spring that worried every fan on the internet might have had something to do with inserting another character, The Flash. Also when production started in Vancouver and all those videos and pics leaked online of Batman chasing down The Joker in a car chase, The Flash was nowhere to be seen. While we have been told a majority of shooting was in Vancouver, there is of course the possibility that The Flash’s scene(s) were shot in a more secure environment. So that should extinguish a few late fan theories, that Batman and The Flash are working together in the film. A ridiculous rumor, to be sure, seeing as the footage from Comic-Con from Justice League suggests Barry and Bruce won’t meet until next year. Anyway, I’m not against The Flash showing up in the film, just as long as it doesn’t become a huge distraction and a trailer for Justice League.
Secondly, I’m one that believes that the sooner critical reviews are released the stronger the studio feels about their film. We’re yet to see any official reviews of the film, yet so far as I know critical screenings do not begin until tomorrow evening. There have been some fan screenings, but of course we can’t rely on them 100%. Remember the weekend before Batman v Superman? If the fans were to be believed, the film would be better than The Dark Knight, and look how that turned out. We already have reviews up for three releases next week on the Rotten Tomatoes website: Pete’s Dragon, Sausage Party, and Florence Foster Jenkins, though Sausage Party did screen a few months ago at SXSW Film Festival and Florence Foster Jenkins did premier this Spring in the UK. While we don’t usually throw red flags up unless critical reviews aren’t allowed until the day before or of release, Wednesday is calling it a little close. Then again we had our fears when this was the case for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). The reasoning we got with that was spoilers, and I’m inclined to believe the same is true for Suicide Squad, but I’m accounting the lack of early reviews on one more thing: nerves. There is more riding on this film than ever before. When Dawn of Justice disappointed with critics and came in lower than expected in the box office, it hurt them. If the film had been a bigger hit, there wouldn’t be as much pressure on Suicide Squad to blow up at the theaters. And with critics in mind, they are 2/2 on bad to mixed reviews on the project. If they go 3/3, they want that to stay quiet for as long as possible. If the reviews are mixed at best, they are afraid the box office will suffer. For me, if the reviews are mixed or bad, I’ll be a little let down, but I won’t skip it. If the reviews are good, it’ll be a sigh of relief for the studio. Even a score of 70% or so on Rotten Tomatoes is a solid for the studio.
With all this being said, there are a lot of factors that have me believing the film is in good hands. First off, we have to start at the top: David Ayer. WB had a good call there, allowing him to not only direct but also write the project. His last film, Fury (2014) was excellent and I still think End of Watch (2012) is among the best ever in the found-footage style films. He knows how to direct stories, something, with all due respect, Zach Snyder needs to work on. Then look at the ensemble: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnemann, Viola Davis, and Jared Leto leading the film with notables like Cara Delevingne and Jai Courtney appearing in key supporting roles, and of course let us not forget Ben Affleck returning as Batman. Plus all three trailers for the film have blown away my expectations. In fact, I’d say each trailer got better and better, plus the extended-TV spot (again, not trailer) we got from Comic-Con was excellent. I have nothing but excitement going forward for the film, even though we won’t hear from the respected critics until tomorrow night at the earliest and the addition of The Flash has me wondering just how much the film will be focusing on the bad guys.
Now the golden question: how much will it make? To be honest, I’m not sure yet. Early this summer expectations were set at around the $95-100 million mark for opening weekend, but since then it has jumped to as high as $125 million opening. Before I can make an official prediction, I’d like to hear if this is a home run with critics or if strike three is called. If the reviews are great, the film has a chance of getting as high as $135 million. If it tanks with reviews, we could see as poor a showing as $70 million in comparison. Either way, there should be enough money to go around at the worldwide box office for it’s $175 million budget to be made up. For more on the upcoming box office weekend and my final prediction before the weekend starts, join me Thursday as I begin a new weekly blog: weekend box office predictions.
Enough of this self-promotion! When will we have our answer: is Suicide Squad another stickler or a fresh start for DC? We’ll have to wait and see the reviews, the box office returns, and the audience reactions. If all three are in the positive, we could see the most interest in DC in a long time and be in the good graces of film going forward. If the reviews and reactions are negative, we might have to call the DC Cinematic Universe a bust. If the box office is great, the audiences love it, but critic reviews are mixed, we’ll be in a similar spot for Wonder Woman next summer.
