Weekend Predictions: Can Quinn Capture Audience’s Attention?

February 7, 2020

Birds of Prey

It’s the first weekend of February and the only wide release is Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), the latest installment in the D.C.E.U. There is no question that it will earn first place over the weekend. There is some question about how well it will do during its opening weekend, as ticket pre-sales have been weaker than anticipated. This weekend last year, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part opened with $34.12 million. Birds of Prey will top that; however, it needs to come close to matching the combined openings of last year’s top two films, The Lego Movie 2 and What Men Want, in order to have a real shot at leading 2020 to a victory in the year-over-year competition. That doesn’t seem as likely as it did last week.

Birds of Prey is a sequel / spin-off to Suicide Squad. The film follows Harley Quinn and includes a number of new characters, all of whom have run afoul of Black Mask and who now have to band together to survive. The film’s reviews are 86% positive, but its average review score is lower at is under 7 out of 10. That’s still good for a mainstream action film, but not spectacular. Additionally, its advanced ticket sales haven’t lived up to expectations. It could still open with $50 million, maybe a little more, but opening below $40 million is more likely. I don’t think it will be that low, but it could be close with $41 million. That’s still a good start for a film that cost $75 million to make. Hopefully its reviews will lead to long legs.

Bad Boys for Life should earn just over $10 million over the weekend, giving it a running tally of almost $165 million. Next weekend is a long weekend, so it could get a large enough boost to be on pace to reach $200 million domestically. This is far from a sure thing, but it is a realistic possibility.

Oscar talk should help 1917 have a strong hold and earn about $7 million over the weekend. If the film is one of the big winners on Oscar night, then it should have no trouble getting to $150 million domestically. Even earning one or two technical Oscars could be enough to get to that milestone.

Amazingly, Dolittle will remain in the top five for one more week with about $5 million, putting it in a tight race with Jumanji: The Next Level for fourth place.

- Weekend Theater Counts: Birds of Prey Lands as the Weeks Widest Release

Filed under: Weekend Preview, Bad Boys For Life, Dolittle, Jumanji: The Next Level, 1917, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), DC Extended Universe, Ewan McGregor, Margot Robbie