A couple weeks back, we reported that Suicide Squad was tracking for an opening in the $100-$125 million range, which would easily surpass the August record set by Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014 ($94.3 million). Now, with only a few days to go before the DC superhero film hits theaters, the David Ayer-directed blockbuster is looking at an even more impressive number, with pre-release tracking indicating an opening weekend in the $130-$140 million range. What's more, analysts are almost uniformly bullish on the film's prospects, with some pegging it at $150 million-plus for the three-day period (including Thursday night previews). Below is a sampling of what the experts are projecting.
Deadline: “How high will its debut go? Tracking has it at $130M-$140M, but we believe it will be on the high side of that and quite possibly more than $140M.”
Box Office Mojo: “…don't be surprised if this one opens above Deadpool's $132.4 million and could very easily top $145 million.”
Mark Hughes, Forbes: “If the film blows critics away and it scores in the 70% range or higher, and if audiences grade it at A or A+, then I”m inclined to think it might hit the $150 million range.”
BoxOfficePro: “The final trailer seems to have pushed the film into high gear and the fact that it is performing comparably to Deadpool and Batman V Superman on social media seems to indicate that it has a strong chance of opening closer to $150 million than $100 million which would be a massive win for all involved.”
Additionally, Suicide Squad has become Fandango's “top August pre-seller in the company's 16-year history,” according to a press release, which further bodes well for its opening weekend number.
Thursday night previews for Suicide Squad begin at 6 PM. You can check out Drew's review of the film here.