Although “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” opened to a record breaking $170 million this weekend, it’s not yet a success. Word around the campfire is that it needs to make $800 million just to break even, and you can’t possibly see that movie as a success unless it crosses the $1 billion mark. And with critics and audiences seemingly divided, it’ll be be interesting to see if the film can hit that benchmark.
READ MORE: Is ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’ In Trouble?
On the other side of the narrative coin you have Warner Bros.‘ “Suicide Squad.” Now the buzz and reaction towards that film — a villains/anti-hero movie that centers on baddies forced to do the dirty work for the government — has been nearly ecstatic. A “Dirty Dozen”-style concept, “Suicide Squad” centers on just that: a suicide mission that not all the characters are expected to return from. Why? A shadowy government intelligence agency run by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) that’s maybe more like the clandestine version of Marvel’s “S.H.I.E.L.D.” has given the already-incarcerated villains an ultimatum: rot in solitary confinement or take a chance at living in the outside world by joining the squad.
We know Batman (Ben Affleck) cameos in the film which also features classic Dark Knight antagonist The Joker (Jared Leto). But it appears that the real stars of the film will be the “Suicide Squad” themselves lead by Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), Slipknot (Adam Beach), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Monster T (Common) and El Diablo (Jay Hernandez). There’s an irreverent tone to the film already, seemingly embraced by the same audience that loved the cheeky anti-hero elements of “Deadpool,” so as of right now, it appears that it’s Warner Bros.’ summer to lose with “Suicide Squad.” If they can keep the narrative wave enthusiastic, which it appears they can, this could be a "Guardians Of The Galaxy"-esque property that does huge opening numbers despite the fact that most of the lead characters are largely unknown to mainstream audiences that only know the top-tier comic-book heroes. The movie’s potential success also points to a modern world where studios are scrambling to make not only R-rated super hero films, but anti-hero films with plenty of wit and irreverence (which has its downside when everyone makes those kinds of films, but we’re not there quite yet).
Regardless, “Suicide Squad” looks like the summer film to beat thus far and its buzz will probably only grow. In fact, WB are so confident they’re apparently already planning a sequel. The film opens wide on August 5th, later this year. Watch the new international trailer below.