Friday, May 22, 2026

Box Office: New Pandemic Fears Make Audience Cautious about “Suicide Squad,” Flick Eyeing Lower Numbers Than Hoped

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The combined total of Thursday previews and last night’s premiere are a little disappointing for the raved about DC Comics film, “The Suicide Squad.”

The box office came in at just $12.5 million, meaning the weekend will total around $28 million. Compare that to “Black Widow” from a few weeks ago which had a $40 million opening.

New fears about COVID variants are making audiences more cautious about hitting the movie theaters. Luckily “The Suicide Squad” is on HBO Max, so people can see it there. But really good films like “Stillwater” and “The Green Knight” (don’t ask me, I haven’t seen it) which aren’t on streaming are suffering from small attendance.

One blockbuster that has fizzled is “Jungle Cruise,” which dropped 67% from last Friday and is heading into “Titanic” waters not in a good way with $54 million at the box office. And that one is available on streaming via Disney’s Premier Access.

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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