If you currently looked at Rotten Tomatoes to see how Warner Bros. Pictures’ Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn was doing in theaters, you would be pleasantly surprised that there they are about equal in opinion holding at about 82% as of Saturday evening. But the fact that people are enjoying it hasn’t translated yet in box office sales, which unfortunately are lower than expected.

According to Forbes, DC Film’s Birds of Prey finished Friday with a very low $13.025 million on its first day. This number also includes the $4 million that it had brought in during Thursday’s previews. For now it’s looking like it might finish the weekend with about $39 million, which would be on the same level as last year’s offering from Warner Bros. The LEGO Movie 2, which brought in $34 million on it’s opening weekend. The biggest difference is that the R-rating, will probably not be giving this film an extra nudge from matinees filled with kids.

This in your face girl gang flick directed by Cathy Yan based off of a screenplay by Christina Hodson features a cast that is lead by Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollet-Bell, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Ella Jay Basco. With the praise that Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, it would seem like this would be a film that fans would flock to. So what happened?

ALSO SEE: BIRDS OF PREY IS CERTIFIED FRESH ON ROTTEN TOMATOES, IS IT TIME TO RE-THINK THE MARVEL VS DC DEBATE?

Well, there a few things that could be going against the DC film here. First and foremost, the “R” rating that they decided to go with. Harley Quinn is a character that is beloved by adult and kids alike. By going with that rating, yes the film is “edgier” but you lose so much of your audience that has already seen the character in a previous film. There may even be some parents that didn’t even bother to go out to see the film because of the fact they couldn’t take their kids with them. Another thing that could have happened is that some audience members probably still remember the mess that was Suicide Squad and didn’t feel the need to see this film, especially noting that Jared Leto’s Joker wasn’t in it and that it really doesn’t seem important in a grander scale. It just feels like a film that Warner Bros. is throwing out there because of the response that Harley got.

In mentioning all of this it’s important to note that this film was made on an $82 million budget, so it’s not in any immediate danger, even though having the same numbers as the LEGO sequel might be alarming. I do believe that good word of mouth is going to help this film for the next few weeks, especially if the consensus continues to be positive.

Have you seen Birds of Prey? Let us know in the comment section below!

Warner Bros. Pictures’ Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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Source: Forbes