Why did Birds of Prey flop?

Birds of Prey was released in theaters on February 7, 2020. The film is based on the DC Comics team Birds of Prey and stars Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn from 2016’s Suicide Squad. Despite positive reviews from critics, Birds of Prey underperformed at the box office, bringing in only $33.3 million domestically during its opening weekend and going on to gross just $84.2 million in the United States. This was well below expectations and marked a disappointing debut for the $82 million budgeted film. There are several factors that may have contributed to Birds of Prey’s lackluster box office performance.

Brand Confusion

One of the biggest issues with Birds of Prey was that general audiences did not understand what the film was about based on the marketing and title. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was a mouthful and did not effectively communicate that this was a Harley Quinn centered film. While comic fans understood the connection, the general public was unclear if this was a sequel, a spinoff, or something entirely new. Margot Robbie was highly featured in the trailers, but the branding did not do enough to indicate her prominence or the overall tone of the movie. The fantastical subtitle did not match the gritty street-level action in the film itself. Audiences were simply confused by what this movie was supposed to be.

Lack of Mainstream Awareness of Birds of Prey

Making things more difficult was the fact that the Birds of Prey team is not well known to casual audiences. The average moviegoer likely did not have any prior knowledge of who the Birds of Prey are unless they closely follow DC Comics. This made marketing the film more challenging without an established brand that the public already had an association with. Suicide Squad was able to leverage the known DC villains like Harley Quinn, Joker, and Deadshot. Birds of Prey did not have that same immediate audience recognition.

Absence of Joker

While Harley Quinn was featured prominently, the Joker did not appear in the film. Joker likely would have been a box office draw given the popularity surrounding the character after the acclaimed 2019 film starring Joaquin Phoenix. Fans of Harley Quinn were also likely disappointed that her relationship with the Joker did not factor into the story. This removed a key connection to Suicide Squad that may have brought in more viewers.

R-Rating

Birds of Prey received an R-rating for strong violence and language throughout. This automatically narrowed the potential audience by eliminating teenagers under 17 not accompanied by an adult. Suicide Squad was PG-13, allowing for a wider viewer base that helped propel it to a $746 million worldwide gross. Birds of Prey no doubt lost out on ticket sales from the restricted rating. An edgier, more mature approach worked for Deadpool and Logan, but those brands were already firmly established with audiences. Birds of Prey did not have that advantage. Going R-rated right out of the gate for an unknown property was risky.

Lackluster Marketing Efforts

The marketing and promotional campaign for Birds of Prey failed to generate significant hype or appeal to general moviegoers. It lacked the spectacle and imagery that made Suicide Squad’s trailers so memorable. The aesthetic was darker and more restrained. Trailers focused on introducing the individual Birds of Prey members rather than establishing an intriguing narrative. There simply was not enough intrigue built around the story and characters to get the average person excited. No signature set pieces or moments were highlighted to go viral and drive anticipation. The marketing did not expand the appeal much beyond hardcore DC fans.

Margot Robbie as Lead

While Margot Robbie is talented and perfectly cast as Harley Quinn, she may not have had enough star power at the time to truly lead a blockbuster. Robbie was coming off recent disappointments like Mary Queen of Scots and Terminal. She had yet to fully prove herself as a bankable A-list headliner. Harley Quinn is best served as a supporting character. Carrying the entire film on her shoulders was too much pressure. A more established female star may have helped attract a bigger audience.

No Merchandising Partnerships

There was a noticeable lack of promotional partnerships and merchandise for Birds of Prey. Suicide Squad had very successful merchandising with Hot Topic, Subway, and purveyors of Harley Quinn paraphernalia. Birds of Prey did not strike up the same cross-promotional deals. The Hot Topic crowd that would be most excited for Birds of Prey was not activated through synergistic marketing efforts. More brands pairing up with the film could have expanded its exposure.

Bad Release Date

Birds of Prey faced very difficult competition opening against Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen starring Matthew McConaughey. The Gentlemen appealed strongly to adult males, which provided direct competition for Birds of Prey. Horror film The Turning also opened the same weekend targeting teen audiences. Birds of Prey may have benefitted from staking out a date with less direct overlap. February is also not considered a strong box office month. Birds of Prey may have had more luck debuting in a summer or holiday corridor against films with less similar demographics.

Too Female Centric

While female empowerment was central to the themes of Birds of Prey, the heavy slant toward women characters and perspectives likely alienated a portion of male moviegoers. The film did not have a prominent male lead to help draw in men or romantic elements to appeal to date night audiences. R-rated action films generally need to lean more male, but Birds of Prey skewed very female. That lack of balance in targeting both genders made building a box office smash more difficult.

Comparison to Other R-Rated Comic Films

Here is how Birds of Prey stacked up against other recent R-rated comic book adaptations in terms of domestic box office numbers:

As the table illustrates, Birds of Prey massively underperformed compared to other adult oriented comic IP. Even films like Logan and Deadpool 2 starring less mainstream characters managed to gross over $300 million domestic. Birds of Prey didn’t even crack $100 million in the US. This shows how much Birds of Prey failed to resonate.

Lack of Audience Enthusiasm

In addition to the disappointing box office returns, Birds of Prey suffered from lackluster audience reactions. Here are some of the metrics:

These scores indicate a mild, underwhelming response from general audiences. For comparison, Suicide Squad earned a B+ Cinemascore, 83% PostTrak, and 65% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. While Birds of Prey surpassed Suicide Squad with critics (79% Rotten Tomatoes critic score vs. 27%), it failed to match that film’s audience enthusiasm. This word of mouth likely hampered Birds of Prey’s ability to garner repeat viewings and have box office legs.

COVID-19 Impact on Release

The beginning of coronavirus fears and restrictions in February 2020 may have also affected Birds of Prey’s box office performance. Parts of China had already closed down theaters by this point. Other Asian markets were hugely impacted. Overall anxiety about public gatherings and contracting illness likely kept moviegoers home. Birds of Prey had the misfortune of releasing just before the pandemic went global. A few weeks delay may have made a notable difference in its box office potential before lockdowns and theater closures.

Conclusion

In the end, Birds of Prey was not able to capture the same magic as Margot Robbie’s breakout performance in Suicide Squad. It failed to establish an identity and generate interest among general audiences. An R-rating and female centric themes narrowed the target demographic too far. The film faced marketing challenges introducing a lesser known team without Will Smith or Jared Leto’s Joker. Competition from similar male skewing films also hurt its box office potential. While Birds of Prey earned praise for its stylized action and Robbie’s performance, it lacked the ingredients of a true blockbuster. With better timing, branding, and audience awareness, it may have found the box office success that eluded it. But the confused marketing campaign and muddled messaging failed to create that crucial must-see factor. Birds of Prey got lost in the shuffle of higher profile comic book films and unfortunately never took flight at the box office.