Birds of Prey renamed after flopping at the box office
Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey has been renamed after a disappointing opening weekend in the cinemas.
Warner Bros. has changed the film’s name from Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, less than a week after its debut.
A studio representative told The Verge the name change is part of an effort to make it easier for moviegoers to find the flick.
While the R-rated film opened at number one at the US box office, it only grossed US$33 million, coming short of the studio’s US$45 million projection. Industry expectations were around US$50 to US$55 million.
The opening for Birds of Prey is the lowest so far for a DC Comics title, overtaking Shazam!’s record of US$53.5 million.
In Australia, the film also earned the top spot at the box office, taking in $3.85 million across 528 screens on its first weekend.
Directed by Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey depicts the story of Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie) who finds herself becoming allies with Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) after her breakup with the Joker.