By: Keaton Marcus

The second “Birds of Prey” trailer has dropped, and it’s as colorful and violent was we were hoping for. It’s a mess, but Margot Robbie looks to deliver another committed performance in this standalone Harley Quinn flick. One thing we know is that Quinn and the Joker’s relationship is kaput, which may or may not taint long time fans’ interest in getting tickets for the picture. However, it looks like an R-rated, fun anti-hero type adventure with an all-female cast, despite a supporting role from Ewan McGregor. We break down whether DCEU’s newest release will be good, and more importantly, will it do business?

Will it be good? It looks a bit “Joker-esque, but you never know. Harley Quinn has always been a second-favorite compared to Joker. She only recently appeared in 2016’s “Suicide Squad”, while her literal male counterpart has nabbed roles as the main antagonist in the original 60’s series, 1989’s “Batman”, 2009’s “The Dark Knight”, “Suicide Squad”, “The Killing Joke”, 2019’s prequel “Joker” and many more. Nevertheless, Ms. Quinn is still a beloved comics villain, and should score some popularity with her new film. Margot Robbie also did a terrific job in Quinn’s last role, and it also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ewan McGregor. This will also be the first major feature film for female director Cathy Yan, so it also really depends if she has the talent for filming such a picture. While it looks a little bit like a carbon copy of “Joker”, Robbie is excellent, and the premise has potential. We will see.

Will it be a hit? I am going with a big yes. Say what you want, it may not have the quality of an Oscar-winning film, but more than likely, because of the action-packed trailers, teens and adults will likely be interested. Especially females. It’s violent, colorful, and it looks funny enough (in its own way). While it won’t be huge, I think it can crack a debut of 70 million. This is the second-smallest opening for the DCEU (topping “Aquaman’s 67.8M), and the projection is substantially weaker than our estimate for “Joker” (85 million), but that’s solid cash in the bag. If, however, it either gets worldwide acclaim, or panned by the critics, it will affect it one way or the other. “Suicide Squad”, mentioned many times before, was the first major motion picture featuring Quinn. Despite poor reception when the film first came out (a 26% approval rating on RottenTomatoes), the film still soared to a debut of over 133 million, while closing with 325 million in North America, and 746 million worldwide. The character has strength, that’s for sure, but will that spark be able to extend to “Birds of Prey”? Check for box office updates on Box Office Face Offs!!

“Birds of Prey” arrives in theaters everywhere in February, 2020!!