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‘Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey’: Warner Bros. Quickly Retitles Film After Weak Box Office Opening

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4 years ago

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I find the box office immensely fascinating. There are so many factors at play that us “experts” are pretty much making educated guesses as to what’s successful or not, and as to why. It’s rare when a studio offers some insight into their release, and none of us are privy to their exit reports. It’s all a guessing game.

This brings me to Warner Bros. Pictures’ Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), their Suicide Squad spinoff that features Margot Robbie‘s Harley Quinn front and center in her very own movie.

Having skipped yesterday morning’s box office report, in short, the film underperformed. It opened at $33M with a global take of $84.5M. Not great. Also not a flop. Still, Warners expected much more out of this colorful and fun R-rated comic book movie that has a reported budget of $80-$100M. The film should break even, maybe even profit, but it should have been much, much more. What happened?

I spent the entire weekend searching for answers. Was it the R-rating? I mean, Deadpool did fine, so why not Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)? Maybe it was the timing? Black Panther broke box office records releasing in February. Was it the marketing? Maybe? I personally didn’t enjoy the trailers, but ended up having a great time with the film. How about the film’s unintelligible title? Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn). Awful. It’s such a mouthful that I couldn’t even remember it when I started writing this article.

Flashback to 2015, Warner Bros. was caught off guard when they started marketing Suicide Squad. They had no idea how popular Harley Quinn is. In fact, insiders tell me that they started to rework the film and shoot additional photography to inject her into more scenes.

So why in the world would you give the character her own movie and call it anything but Harley Quinn?

Warner Bros. is giving us a rare peek behind the curtain and offering up solid evidence that they believe, internally, that they made a mistake and that the title is one of the reasons for the film’s soft box office opening. It’s been confirmed that theater listings have officially changed the title from Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) to a much simpler, clean, and focused Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. Just seeing it makes me feel less anxious. Funny enough, it also tells us the exact same information that the original did. It’s Harley Quinn’s movie with the Birds of Prey. Cool!

Even though Warner Bros. attempted this stunt once before with the Edge of Tomorrow VOD release, this move feels unprecedented. I’m not quite sure I’ve ever heard of a studio renaming their blockbuster release less than a week into release. I hope this move works because I don’t want to see Margot Robbie’s reign as Harley Quinn end like this. She deserves better.

Update: According to Atom Tickets’ Alisha Grauso, this isn’t an “official” title change. Here’s what she offered on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/alishagrauso/status/1227050788100247553?s=21

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Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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