Suicide Squad Had A Strong Opening But Has Hit A Wall

The news from the US is that DC's latest attempt at taking the superhero team-up crown from Marvel, Suicide Squad enjoyed a very strong opening night.

On it's first day's screening on Thursday, the villain-laden action film made a staggering $65 million. There has inevitably been some concern that this figure dropped by over 40% the following night. However, the movie's total weekend figure of $135.1 million in the US and Canada alone is a record for August – which is generally not a great month for film attendances, with holidays and sunshine playing a part in keeping people out of cinemas.

Its box office haul also represents the third-biggest opening of the year to date, behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which hit a high of $166 million (£127 million) in March, and Captain America: Civil War, which set the 2016 record so far in May with a stunning $179 million (£136.8 million).

Reports confirm that Suicide Squad also dominated the global market, racking up ticket revenues of $132 million (£100.9 million) outside the U.S. and Canada, across its opening weekend.

Suicide Squad has faced harsh reviews from critics who have been less than wildly enthused by what they saw.

"The critics have been absolutely horrific," one of the movie's stars Cara Delevingne admitted to Reuters. "They're really, really horrible... It doesn't really matter what the critics say at the end of the day, it's the fans that we made this movie for."

Meanwhile, the female lead Margot Robbie – who is interviewed in the current issue of Hot Press – offered a similar view. "Critical acclaim is really nice," she said, "but we made it for the fans. If the fans like it, then we did our job."