Many years down the line, the box office of one ofDC’s most notorious movie releases becomes even more striking when compared to a classicMCUfilm. DC and Marvel have had a fascinating time developing their own movie landscapes over the past few decades, with both releasing some huge franchises and major movie series within them. Whilethe MCU timelineis the biggest of these, DC’s own offerings - both in terms ofthe DCEU timelineand other projects like The Dark Knight trilogy - still hold an unforgettable and crucial place in the genre.
Ultimately, this period of time has seen both DC and Marvel release some of theirbest superhero movies- and some of their worst, too. With the benefit of years of hindsight now, many films that fall into both categories have become even more interesting, as time can change how we view their circumstances, and often more is revealed about the behind the scenes side of the projects long after their releases. It’s in this vein that one somewhat infamous DC release remains fascinating even close to a decade later, especially when compared to the MCU movie that it beat at the box office.
WhileSuicide Squadquickly earned a reputation for being one of the most controversial DC movie releases of all time, its box office results were still considerable, with the film’s worldwide box office total reported to be between $745-749 million (as perThe NumbersandBox Office Mojo). Given the film’s notorious reception, this is notable for a fair few reasons, with one such reason being that the release netted over $100 million more than the firstDoctor Strangemovie, which released the same year, debuting only two months later thanSuicide Squaditself.
Despite being a crucial part of the overall MCU as the debut of the franchise’s focal sorcerer - and a character who would come to have an integral role in the overall dealings of The Infinity Saga - and despite making around 4 times its production budget,Doctor Strange’s $676-677 million (The Numbers/Box Office Mojo) worldwide box office still is some distance fromSuicide Squad’s own. In fact,this placesDoctor Strangenot far from making $100 million less than the DC installment, which is made all the more unusual by the different general perceptions of the two films.
SinceSuicide Squadis now remembered largely for its more jarring moments and decidedly unfavorable Rotten Tomatoes scores, it’s easy to forget that the movie was the subject of some substantial hypebefore its actual release. Not only wasSuicide Squadthe first modern superhero movie to focus on a more morally complex team, it also had some huge star power behind it, with Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Will Smith’s Deadshot being but two of the figures audiences were excited to see who also had some major box office potential.
Similarly, while the editing and pacing of the final release ofSuicide Squadhas been the subject of many complaints in the time since it debuted, the previews audiences saw beforehand were snappy and engaging, promising a suitably exciting experience that drew many in - with director David Ayer having even stated that his version of the film was closer to the iteration audiences had hoped for. Add the tease of a new live-action Joker, and it makes sense that so many sought to see the movie, even after initial reviews suggested some less than promising things about what to expect.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that, while the DCEU’sMan Of Steelstill divided audiences to a degree, there was still much promise felt in the future of the franchise, which can also be seen inBatman V Superman: Dawn Of Justicemaking $872 million in the same year. In a time period where it seemed early plans for the DCEU were set to go forward,Suicide Squaddid also tease big things with its post-credits scene of Amanda Waller and Batman tensely discussing the future of the world and franchise, making it seem important.
Comparatively, whileDoctor Strangeis a major MCU hero and his movie was key in bringing magic to the franchise, the solo movie itself didn’t tie as closely to the overarching landscape of the franchise at the time, meaning audiences had less incentive to catch it in cinemas to some degree. In the same vein, whereSuicide Squadpromised big figures like Harley Quinn and Joker, Doctor Strange being less well-known to broader audiences may have also had a knock-on effect, especially since the movie released not long afterCaptain America: Civil Warbrought the MCU’s biggest characters back on-screen.
Currently,Doctor Strangehas an audience score onRotten Tomatoesof 86%, and a critic score of 89%. This set of scores reflects the ways in which the MCU film appears to have held up for the general public as the years have gone by, especially with Stephen Strange becoming far more important in the main storyline of the franchise midway through The Infinity Saga.
On the other side of things,Suicide Squad’sRotten Tomatoesratings are that of a 58% audience score, and a critic score of 26%, painting a far less positive picture of how the film is still perceived even all these years down the line. WithThe Suicide Squadoffering a more favorable take on the DC team and its potential for stories, it seems many hold an even less favorable view of the 2016 movie than they did prior, especially since the 2021 film didn’t serve as a conventional sequel but more of a quasi-reboot of sorts.
WhileThe Suicide Squadkept the likes of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang, and Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr, these were the only real connections between the two releases, with James Gunn stating in an interview withThe New York Timesthat he “wanted it to be its own thing completely.”
As such - even with every reason in mind as to whySuicide Squadultimately netted itself a higher box office - I still find it wild to note the financial differences between the two, and how they were in favor ofSuicide Squaddespite theDCfilm quickly netting a much worse reception than the 2016MCUrelease. With that said, it’s worth noting that the box office results of both pay testimony to the potential of the superhero genre as a whole, and how the various parts of its legacy can demonstrate this, even when they’re otherwise very different in a wide variety of ways.
DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
