UPDATED: I’m getting whiplash here. As it turns out, yes Warner Bros. did have the title change — but not officially. Only on theater retails sites. As one WB rep told The Verge, the move was to help “search expansion for ticket sales.” Basically to use search engine optimization — or SEO — to help with sales.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Well, looks like I have some mad crow to eat. Yesterday, outlets noticed that theaters around the country had been changing the name of the film. It swapped over from Birds of Prey (and the Fabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. The inference here was logical. In order to combat the disappointing box office, Warner Bros. had changed the name. Perhaps they felt audiences were too confused and needed Harley Quinn thrown out front-and-center.

I spent an entire article yesterday talking about how it was a dumb idea. How it showed they had no understanding of what the true problem was that their film just wasn’t for as big of an audience as they’d hoped. Be it because of the bright colors, the R rating, the strange tone, or the fact that it followed a side character of a side character, there were various reasons it fell short. 

Well, it turns out they weren’t trying to “fix” anything. As it turns out, they weren’t the ones who changed the title. According to TheWrap, it was theater chains Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, and AMC Theatres who changed the name. 

RELATED – Birds Of Prey: WB Clearly Misunderstands The Film’s Box Office Problem

Atom Tickets’ Alisha Grauso clarified the reason, saying, “It’s apparently for display/search purposes only for vendors and theaters, not an official title change. Just to clarify for those of you writing about it.”

So, here’s the part where I eat crow on two levels. On one level, for not digging just a little bit deeper and checking on the title change, and on another for calling out Warner Bros. At this point, I’m sure the studio is still trying to figure out the best way to go forward with the film, but as I’ve said before, this movie still has a solid chance of making money. It’s mostly the narrative that comic book movies need to make hundreds of millions of dollars in profit that’s the real problem.

What do you think? Should Warner Bros. just go with it and follow through with a title change or are you happy it’s still Birds of Prey? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: TheWrap