The month of August is about to get a new record-holder as Warner Bros. unleashes Suicide Squad [SUICD] based on the DC comic series. Will Smith [WSMIT] leads the cast as Deadshot, but the true stars are Margot Robbie [MROBB] as Harley Quinn and Jared Leto [JLETO] as the Joker. The PG-13 rated actioner bings together comic villains to battle a greater evil, turning them into the heroes. Buzz has been building ever since the first trailer dropped at the 2015 Comic-Con more than a year ago. Warner Bros. has steered a brilliant marketing campaign that has moviegoers in a frenzy, even after the disappointment of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which still managed to opened with $166 million. Advance sales are far ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy, the current August record holder at $94 million. However, reviews have not been kind. While rabid fans frontload Thursday night and Friday, word of mouth could dampen the rest of the weekend. Storming 4255 theaters, Suicide Squad could unload $128 million.
After a successful return, Jason Bourne [BORN5] is likely to be pushed down hard by the DC bad guys. Jason Bourne could fall 55% from its opening to about $26 million.
Bad Moms [BMOMS] had a solid debut, but did not seem to attract moviegoers outside its target audience of older women. Bad Moms should hold better than 50% in its second weekend for $13 million.
Despite better reviews, Star Trek Beyond [TREK3] is decaying faster than its predecessor. With more competition, the third weekend is likely to be around $10 million.
Kevin Spacey [KSPAC] gets turned into a cat in the family comedy Nine Lives [9LIVS]. Most parents are likely to wait for the PG-rated flick to hit home video. EuropaCorp managed only to secure 2264 theaters, where Nine Lives could claim $7 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): SUICD, WSMIT, MROBB, JLETO, BORN5, BMOMS, TREK3, KSPAC, 9LIVS