Love it or hate it...Suicide Squad was a box office hit...

[Hector]

Numbers don't lie...

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dc2016.htm

[Earth 2 Chris]

I didn't love it, but I definitely didn't hate it. I liked it, and enjoyed watching it.

Chris

[CrimsonGhost]

Big numbers are big.

[Brown Bear]

I have no intention of ever watching this. Nothing about this movie appeals to me.

[palitoy]

Took the kids to see it on the weekend, they both loved it. Me? It's kind of a mess but it did more right with the DCU than other movies, bat-cuffs!

[Hector]

It's 100 times better than Iron Man 3...is that's any consolation, lol...

[MRP]

It's not how much it makes, it's how much the suits at Warner wanted it to make to consider it a success, and it fell short of their domestic and overall expectations. The box office numbers look good, but they are below what the people who make decisions about how to spend money and what to spend it on next were expecting for a ROI for the money they put into the project and the name power of the cast involved. It's Hollywood business, perception is always more important than reality and for the suits, the perception is the movie under-performed despite those box office numbers.

-M

[WannabeMego]

I enjoyed it's potential...it was rough and the story suffered...but...I enjoyed it WAY MORE then Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

[monitor_ep]

WB has said that if SS doesn't reach $800,000,000 they will not make there money back. If they did not cast Will Smith as lead the movie would not have made have the amount.

[Nostalgiabuff]

haven't seen it yet but will definitely buy it when it hits bluray

[palitoy]

It's 100 times better than Iron Man 3...is that's any consolation, lol...

Yes I wish that movie had a Fu Manchu with magic rings, that would have been so much better. Iron Man 3 isn't my favourite movie but I think a lot of fans hate it for the wrong reasons.

[emeraldknight47]

I, too, will be waiting for Bluray or cable channel....

[madmarva]

WB has said that if SS doesn't reach $800,000,000 they will not make there money back. If they did not cast Will Smith as lead the movie would not have made have the amount.

That rumor has been debunked. It was reported as hearsay from someone who heard it at a media gathering. Not as a fact. The movie did not meet WB expectations as others have stated, but it did not have to clear 800 million to make a profit. It had an effective but not astoundingly high marketing and distribution cost. Total cost of the movie was estimated at around $325 million. $175 million production budget and $150 million marketing/distribution budget.

[MRP]

That rumor has been debunked. It was reported as hearsay from someone who heard it at a media gathering. Not as a fact. The movie did not meet WB expectations as others have stated, but it did not have to clear 800 million to make a profit. It had an effective but not astoundingly high marketing and distribution cost. Total cost of the movie was estimated at around $325 million. $175 million production budget and $150 million marketing/distribution budget.

The problem is not did it make money, or make more than it cost, the problem is did it make enough money to meet the projections they made for it in earnings forecasts they send to potential investors and shareholders. If it underperforms those projections, it disappoints investors and shareholders whose dividends are less than expected, which hen in turn can negatively affect stock prices, which in turn affects value of brand and consumer confidence and willingness of future investors to put money into their studio. Couple that with negative reviews and the brand value takes a hit. For the suits in Hollywood it's not about profit margin and how much it makes vs. how much it costs, it's about how well it does compared to how well they told people it would do, so even when it makes money, if it underperforms it causes them problems.

Imagine taking a job that pays based on performance and expecting to make $30 an hour, but even though the job goes well it only makes enough to pay you $20 per hour. $20/hour is good, but not compared to what you were expecting and no one is going to be happy or satisfied with the $20/hr no matter how good that is, when everyone was told to expect/promised $30/hr. Then add in a bunch of complaints about the working conditions (fair or not-the equivalent to negative reviews for movies) and suddenly that $20/hour job doesn't look very attractive to people moving forward even if a bunch of people liked the job and were happy to get $20/hour.

It's all about outcome vs. expectations, even if the expectations were unrealistic, it's what sets the perception of most people for what should happen and when those expectations are not met, people will be unhappy.

-M

[madmarva]

The problem is not did it make money, or make more than it cost, the problem is did it make enough money to meet the projections they made for it in earnings forecasts they send to potential investors and shareholders. If it underperforms those projections, it disappoints investors and shareholders whose dividends are less than expected, which hen in turn can negatively affect stock prices, which in turn affects value of brand and consumer confidence and willingness of future investors to put money into their studio. Couple that with negative reviews and the brand value takes a hit. For the suits in Hollywood it's not about profit margin and how much it makes vs. how much it costs, it's about how well it does compared to how well they told people it would do, so even when it makes money, if it underperforms it causes them problems.

Imagine taking a job that pays based on performance and expecting to make $30 an hour, but even though the job goes well it only makes enough to pay you $20 per hour. $20/hour is good, but not compared to what you were expecting and no one is going to be happy or satisfied with the $20/hr no matter how good that is, when everyone was told to expect/promised $30/hr. Then add in a bunch of complaints about the working conditions (fair or not-the equivalent to negative reviews for movies) and suddenly that $20/hour job doesn't look very attractive to people moving forward even if a bunch of people liked the job and were happy to get $20/hour.

It's all about outcome vs. expectations, even if the expectations were unrealistic, it's what sets the perception of most people for what should happen and when those expectations are not met, people will be unhappy.

-M

I don't disagree with you. My point was the thought that SS needed to make $800 million to make money or break even was erroneous.

What you're describing has more to do with BvS than Suicide Squad. Much more was riding on BvS than a relatively unknown property like Suicide Squad. Everyone of WB's shareholders and investors have heard of Superman and Batman. The same couldn't be said for Suicide Squad prior to the film going into production.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Wonder Woman and Justice League. With production on Flash beginning early in 2017 and Aquaman in the spring/summer of 2017 — both before Wonder Woman opens — I guess they will be made. WB's double downed on DC already. There's some confidence somewhere in the WB camp. Not sure if it's warranted or not, but it seems WB is intent on pushing its super heroes forward despite the relative failure of BvS.