Where Did DC Go Wrong With ‘Birds Of Prey’?

Anna James 21 September, 2023

DCEU is one of the franchises which is somewhere struggling to get a positive response from the fans. In the last few years, DCEU films have been getting a moderate response and they have been criticized for a few reasons. But there has been one project which was praised by critics but failed to become a box office success and that is none other than ‘Birds of Prey’, released in 2020.

The character was first introduced in ‘Suicide Squad’ in 2016 which was also not well-received. Directed by Cathy Yan, the film was announced the same year when ‘Suicide Squad’ was released. Considering that Harley Quinn was loved by the audience, producers expected it to become a hit but the opposite happened. Now let’s analyze what went wrong with the project.

Reasons Behind The Disappointing Box Office Results

‘Birds of Prey’ was released in February 2020 and it was able to collect around $33 million at the domestic box office which was less than the expected range of $40 to $60 million. It eventually grossed $199.1 million worldwide and because the film was produced at a cost of $84.5 million, it had to earn twice its budget to break even.

WB used the strategy of marketing the film as ‘Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey’ on the movie ticket websites but it was a last-minute decision. According to trade analysts, focusing on Harley Quinn’s name for the title would have been more beneficial for the film. Apart from that, the R-rating also affected the number of audiences who visited the theatres.

Will Harley Quinn Get Another Standalone Project?

As mentioned earlier, ‘Birds of Prey’ was not able to highly positive response at the box office as expected. This is a major reason why we might not get to see a sequel to the film. However, the good news is that DC is not planning to retire the character from films as it has already appeared in ‘The Suicide Squad’, released in 2021.

Following the release of the first film, director Cathy Yan stated that she would like to return for a sequel that would focus on Quinn’s relationship with Poison Ivy. Margot Robbie, who played the lead role, also expressed her interest in playing the role in a standalone project once again. While Gunn has joined DC Studios recently, there is a possibility that he might bring a proper project.