Birds of Prey's opening week collapse marks worst start for DC movie universe

The opening weekend box office of the new DC movie "Birds of Prey" was far below expectations, becoming the worst start for the DC movie universe. The movie, starring Harley Quinn, took in $33.2 million in North America, and only $81.2 million worldwide, which was significantly lower than the predicted global box office of $155 million, which was surprising.

According to DeadLine, which tracks all box office data, Birds of Prey may not even reach $100 million in North American box office. A film analyst told DeadLine that "the overall situation is very bad." The total production cost of Birds of Prey is about $97 million, and the cost is not low when marketing is included. Due to the special nature of its protagonist, DC and Warner did not expect to make money in Asia, which has been the biggest box office region over the years.

DeadLine also reported that the initial test screening of Birds of Prey was "terrible", so Warner Bros. ordered a reshoot, which resulted in the current result. Birds of Prey actually received relatively fair media ratings before its release, with a CinemaScore of B+ and a Rotten Tomatoes freshness of around 80%, so the biggest factor affecting its box office should still be the R rating.