‘Birds of Prey’ Flailing With $34 Million Box Office Opening

By Anthony D'Alessandro

Harrison Ford’s “The Call of the Wild” opened with $1 million on Thursday night.

Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog grossed a huge $21 million on Friday for a projected four-day debut of $60 million-plus over Presidents Day weekend, including $50 million or more for the three days.If traffic holds, the family friendly pic has a strong shot of coming in several million dollars higher and unseating Detective Pikachu ($54.3 million) to boast the biggest domestic opening ever for a video game adaptation, according to Comscore and unadjusted for inflation.The PG-rated title —

“Sonic the Hedgehog” is racing to a dominant $55 million opening at 3,150 North American locations during the four-day President’s Day weekend in a launch that’s above forecasts, early estimates showed Friday.

“Sonic the Hedgehog” raced to a solid $3 million at 3,150 North American locations on Thursday night.

Rian Johnson’s murder mystery “Knives Out” notched another box office benchmark, surpassing $300 million globally.

Like renaming an airline in the wake of a disaster, Warner Bros.’ “Birds of Prey” appears to have had its title changed just days after release, when it failed to take flight at the box office on opening weekend.

Oscar-nominated star Margot Robbie won over the audience in 2016's Suicide Squad as Harley Quinn. However, she couldn't lure in moviegoers to buy a ticket to Birds of Prey. The Oscar-nominated actress reprised the DC character for the second time in DCEU and audiences did not seem interested in watching Harley Quinn back in action. Birds of Prey minted $33 million in North America, which is one of the worst openings a DC movie has ever seen in the US.

After the commercial successes of “Wonder Woman,” “Aquaman” and “Joker,” Warner Bros. had been on a hot streak with its DC Universe. Its latest comic-book offering, “Birds of Prey,” seemed to have all the ingredients necessary to continue that trend in the studio’s attempt to fashion an alternative to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn failed to gain altitude in its box office debut over the weekend, earning a tepid $33.3 million from 4,236 theaters to mark one of the lowest domestic launches in modern times for a studio superhero pic.The female-led film also struggled overseas, where it bowed to $48 million from 78 markets for a global start of $81.3 million.

By Dino-Ray Ramos

Warner Bros.’ comic-book adaptation “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” got off to a soft start at the international box office, generating $48 million when it debuted in 78 foreign markets.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 9, (Variety.com) – “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” flew much lower than expected in its debut, collecting just $33.25 million from 4,236 U.S. theaters.

“Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” flew much lower than expected in its debut, collecting just $33.25 million from 4,236 U.S. theaters.

Margot Robbie’s superheroine spinoff “Birds of Prey” is landing with a somewhat disappointing $34 million opening weekend at 4,236 North American sites, estimates showed Saturday.