According to pre-release tracking, Suicide Squad is looking like a massive hit at the North American box office, with opening weekend estimates ranging from $100-$125 million. That would be enough to topple Guardians of the Galaxy's August opening weekend record of $94.3 million, which the Marvel title set back in 2014.
Though a gross at the high end of the estimated range would put the David Ayer-directed tentpole well below Batman v Superman's massive $166 million opening, if reviews prove more favorable for the latest DC Comics extravaganza than that much-maligned mashup (not a difficult feat), it could conceivably bring in even more money than current predictions indicate — and demonstrate better legs than BvS, which suffered a nearly 70 percent drop in its second weekend.
Suicide Squad could definitely use a boost over its most recent DC predecessor. Even with $872 million worldwide, Batman v Superman was widely considered a disappointment given its $250 million production budget, sky-high marketing costs and extraordinarily high fan anticipation for the title. With a reportedly similar (though highly unconfirmed) budget to BvS, Squad will need to finish a little closer to the $1 billion mark to rank as an unqualified success.
In any event, the film's box office potential will become clearer once reviews hit. Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5.
[Variety]