It appears Birds of Prey will fail to meet expectations. The Warner Bros. film is set to rack in only $12.6 million on Friday, putting it on track for a $33.5 million opening weekend.
As pointed out by Deadline, previous estimates placed the DCEU flick within the $50 million to $55 million range, with Warner Bros. projecting a more humble $45 million opening. The Friday night estimates have fueled fears that Birds of Prey, which had a reported price tag of $80 million, would end up costing the studio money. The film got off to a rocky start, earning just $4 million during Thursday night previews—a figure that is, unfortunately, included in Friday's $12.6 million projections.
Birds of Prey was also expected to haul in between $60 million to $70 million at the international box office in its opening weekend; however, that appears to be less likely after it grossed $7.8 million between Wednesday and Thursday from 51 international markets.
It's also worth noting that the R-rated film's Rotten Tomatoes score has sank since the previews, going from a high of 92 percent to 82 percent on Friday night.
Birds of Prey marks the eighth entry in the DCEU. Directed by Cathy Yan, the film finds Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn, the antiheroine she portrayed in 2016's Suicide Squad.
"I was so excited to play her from the very beginning. And the more I read the comics, and the more I got to play her in real life during Suicide Squad, the more I just fell in love with her," Margot told ScreenRant back in December. "And there were such obviously limited segments on-screen to really showcase different elements of Harley’s personality in the first Suicide Squad. So it's been really amazing in this movie because I have more screen time. And what's different about this film is that you see Harley in her element."
Margot is up for Best Supporting Actress (Bombshell) at this weekend's Academy Awards. She leads the Birds of Prey ensemble cast, which includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), Rosie Perez (Renee Montoya), and Ewan McGregor (Black Mask).
