Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

They just made an R-rated Joker that did very well, financially and critically.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think a lot of this can be attributed to the trailer and marketing not looking very good, and the film not having an answer to the question that all theatrical releases must now answer: “Why do I need to leave the house and pay money to see this at a time and place of someone else’s choosing, when it will be available for me to view in my home for free on a service I already have in about two or three months?”

The trailer didn’t offer an answer to that question. And that doesn’t even begin to consider the baggage the film carried, namely, that the Suicide Squad trailer was massively successful at selling a film that didn’t deliver on its promises. So even if the trailer had been outstanding, I think there are enough people who felt that they already got burned once.

And again, dead horse as it may be, not seeing it in the theater doesn’t mean not seeing it at all. It doesn’t mean that no one will ever watch it again. It just wasn’t able to convince people to see it now, inconveniently and expensively, vs seeing it later, conveniently and free.

 

[Todd Erwin]

“Why do I need to leave the house and pay money to see this at a time and place of someone else’s choosing, when it will be available for me to view in my home for free on a service I already have in about two or three months?”

Similar question: Is it a movie I would want to spend anywhere from $8-20 per head to see in a theater with other people texting or being just plain rude and pay astronomical prices for popcorn and soda, or wait 2-3 months and pay $20 to own it digitally to watch anytime I want in my own home.

I agree, though, the trailer and overall marketing by Warner was fairly poor. The trailer was disjointed and odd, but from what I've heard, that is what the movie was. I think the movie was probably one that was difficult to market to a wide audience.

 

[dpippel]

WB is actually changing the name of this film in an attempt to boost box office performance:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/11/...ange-seo-warner-bros-opening-weekend-trailers

 

[Malcolm R]

I think it's more likely the Harley Quinn character is just not as popular as they'd like to think.

Not being a comic person, I'd never heard of the character until Suicide Squad, and didn't really like the character in that. I enjoyed SS, but have no interest in HQ/BOP.

 

[TravisR]

WB is actually changing the name of this film in an attempt to boost box office performance:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/11/...ange-seo-warner-bros-opening-weekend-trailers

They changed the name? Shit, the movie is going to be bigger than Avengers now!


I know the theaters are changing the title but I wonder if the actual title onscreen will change.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

They changed the name? Shit, the movie is going to be bigger than Avengers now!


I know the theaters are changing the title but I wonder if the actual title onscreen will change.

Good question. How was it handled with Edge Of Tomorrow? That's the only film that comes to mind that had a name change so quick.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Good question. How was it handled with Edge Of Tomorrow? That's the only film that comes to mind that had a name change so quick.

The actual film is unaltered, but the title on the disc case reads “Live Die Repeat: Edge Of Tomorrow”.

 

[Wayne_j]

I saw this last night and my 'print' still said Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

 

[BobO'Link]

WB is actually changing the name of this film in an attempt to boost box office performance:

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/11/...ange-seo-warner-bros-opening-weekend-trailers

I think it's more likely the Harley Quinn character is just not as popular as they'd like to think.

Not being a comic person, I'd never heard of the character until Suicide Squad, and didn't really like the character in that. I enjoyed SS, but have no interest in HQ/BOP.

I am a comic person. While the character was a partial high point in Suicide Squad I also have zero interest in a Harley Quinn movie. I'd like to see a *true* Birds of Prey movie but not one that's tied to Harley Quinn. At least the updated name change calls it more of what it really is but, IMHO, it's too little too late.

 

[Wayne_j]

I actually thought Warner Bros should have titled Doctor Sleep The Shining: Doctor Sleep. Maybe they are starting to catch on that not everyone knows that these movies are parts of a series.

 

[Malcolm R]

I actually thought Warner Bros should have titled Doctor Sleep The Shining: Doctor Sleep. Maybe they are starting to catch on that not everyone knows that these movies are parts of a series.

Agreed. I don't know why the studios are not using the most obvious and well-known titles from the start to make the marketing easier and get that immediate recognition from the audience.

Kind of like last year, too, when they released "Dark Phoenix" with no mention of X-Men, after every prior X-Men film had included "X-Men" in the title. They added "X-Men" prominently on the home video release cover.

 

[JimmyO]

When I first heard the title of the film, my immediate thought was that it was too clever for itself. Pretentious, even. They made that bed themselves.

My guess is that no one was calling it by it's original name anyways. Probably just "that Harley Quinn movie".

 

[Patrick Sun]

I like R-rated comic book-based movies. Different strokes and all. Plus, the DC Streaming shows are mostly R-rated fare (if they were to be rated by the MPAA), and I enjoyed those shows as well (Titans, and Doom Patrol).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I know the theaters are changing the title but I wonder if the actual title onscreen will change.

They will not. This "title change" is all about search engine optimization.

 

[Traveling Matt]

When I first heard the title of the film, my immediate thought was that it was too clever for itself. Pretentious, even. They made that bed themselves.

My guess is that no one was calling it by it's original name anyways. Probably just "that Harley Quinn movie".

"Pretentious" wasn't the word that came to mind initially. Rather it seemed they were trying to claim ownership of cultural space they hadn't earned. Now I realize pretentious probably works fine.

I got the sense their hearts were in the right place, but your main person better be a big star if you're going to put her name in the subheading. Neither Harley nor Robbie are big enough.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Good question. How was it handled with Edge Of Tomorrow? That's the only film that comes to mind that had a name change so quick.

I don't recall that they changed the name of "Edge" while it was on screens - I thought that was just on video.

Saw "Prey" today and the original title definitely remained on the film - no way they're gonna bother to change that!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I think it's more likely the Harley Quinn character is just not as popular as they'd like to think.

Without getting too political, I think the biggest issue is that a core comic book movie audience - single guys - is turned off by what they perceive as overt feminism.

They liked sexy Harley from "SS" but get turned off by the less sexy "Prey" Harley and the "sisters are doing it for themselves" theme of "Prey".

I think anyone who avoids the movie because they only want hot chicks in skimpy outfits acting sexy is an idiot, but I think that's an issue.

It dented the 2019 "Charlie's Angels" as well, though that one was a crappy enough movie that it became tough to blame the misogynists for its failure...

 

[TravisR]

Without getting too political, I think the biggest issue is that a core comic book movie audience - single guys - is turned off by what they perceive as overt feminism.

They liked sexy Harley from "SS" but get turned off by the less sexy "Prey" Harley and the "sisters are doing it for themselves" theme of "Prey".

I think anyone who avoids the movie because they only want hot chicks in skimpy outfits acting sexy is an idiot, but I think that's an issue.

It dented the 2019 "Charlie's Angels" as well, though that one was a crappy enough movie that it became tough to blame the misogynists for its failure...

I think it's multiple things. Misogyny is one but I think comic book movie fatigue is finally starting to set in with the mainstream audience too. They'll still go to Marvel movies but I think more comic book movies with lesser known characters are going to start having financial problems if they need to make hundreds of millions to break even.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I think it's multiple things. Misogyny is one but I think comic book movie fatigue is finally starting to set in with the mainstream audience too. They'll still go to Marvel movies but I think more comic book movies with lesser known characters are going to start having financial problems if they need to make hundreds of millions to break even.

"Comic book fatigue" is too easy an explanation. People flocked to "Joker" just 4 months ago, and we've gotten no other comic book movies since then.

It almost certainly was a mix of factors but I won't believe "comic book fatigue" exists until we see a real trend - ie, 3 flops/disappointments in a row...