Looper and The Wrap's Take on Suicide Squad

The box office drop-off for Suicide Squad during the feature's second week was summed up by The Wrap.

• There are hardcore fans who positively must see every superhero movie ever made.
• The D.C. Extended Universe has its own niche of loyal fans.
• Warner Bros. and D.C. can't really grow the casual audience all that much beyond the above two.

 A near 70% decrease for the second weekend shows Suicide Squad has no legs, but a $220 million domestic gross (so far) means the film won't be a flop. However, the film going to deliver Warner/D.C. far less than anticipated - and hoped - for.

Looper takes a look at some future problems Warner and D.C. are likely to run into unless the ship of the Extended Universe is put back on course.

Suicide Squad's Mission Dies with the Critics

The reviews for Suicide Squad are rolling in - slowly but surely. They are not good. I was a bit worried about the film when I saw no reviews on RottenTomatoes.com a few days ago. When I found out there was a review embargo, well, I knew the score but was hoping for something different. Anyone who wants to check out the bad news - and it is bad news - can look at:

IndieWire - Suicide Squad Review: Margot Robbie Can't Save The Latest DC Disaster

The Verge - Suicide Squad has too many villains and not enough villainy to go around

SF Gate - Suicide Squad' is two hours of soul-sickening, sensory torment

You get the whole villainous idea. I am going to reserve judgment on this one since I haven't seen it. Ignoring the bad reviews, however, would be to deny the impending gloomy disaster. Blaming the critics is not the way to go. Saying "They don't get it" won't fly. Critics these days are not those of decades past. Years ago, movie critics had a snobbery to them. Today, critics are comprised of people who have a better appreciation for pop culture. Niche critics are sought after by audiences of particular genres. The newspapers may trash horror films, but horror fans are only going to take the review of top websites seriously.

Superhero and comic book films, however, have been smiled upon and awarded rave reviews from mainstream and niche critics. They are in agreement - overwhelmingly - this film is a dud.

Suicide Squad is shaping up to be another disappointment. Actually, it is going to be more than a disappointment. The collapse of D.C. Entertainment and Warner Bros. Studios' superhero movies may be in serious jeopardy. Batman v. Superman was a major critical failure, but still pulled in $800 million worldwide. If Suicide Squad turns off audiences, the next films in the D.C./Warner pipeline are going to be in trouble. Back-to-back disappointments do not spell well for Wonder Woman. Audiences are going to connect D.C. Comics' movies with a lack of quality - a branding disaster. If Wonder Woman falters, Justice League is going to be in a lot of trouble.

Another serious concern has to be raised here - Batman appears in Suicide Squad. Warner and D.C. might find themselves in the same position Marvel and Sony were in when The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't connect well with audiences. Serious fear existed Spider-Man would be destroyed as a box office draw. This led to the shut down of all proposed Spider-Man spinoffs and the third Andrew Garfield outing. Imagine the horror if Batman was killed off as a box office draw.

Could Warner and D.C. pull the plug on the current planned out cinematic universe and reboot things? If so, how? Wonder Woman is finished and Justice League is in production.

Not an easy situation to navigate, folks.