Harley Quinn Movie Title Tweaked After Sad Opening

'Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn' is technically still the film's name
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 11, 2020 5:40 PM CST
Movie Flops, Warner Bros. Changes Its Name—Sort Of
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, from left, Jay Hernandez as Diablo, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag and Karen Fukuhara as Katana in a scene from "Suicide Squad."   (Clay Enos/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn does not exactly roll off the tongue. And after Warner Bros.' latest DC Comics movie flopped at the box office, the studio is tweaking that title—kind of. It now appears as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey on ticket seller websites, CNN reports, though the official name remains the same. Though the film nabbed the No. 1 spot when it debuted this weekend, it brought in just $33 million, the weakest opening for any film in the DC Extended Universe and far less than the $40 million to $60 million that had been anticipated.

Also contributing to the low box-office returns: The film's R rating and the less familiar superheroes it features. It's also the first-ever team made up of all females to be featured in a comic book movie, and the Blaze reports that some were blaming sexism and misogyny for the film's failure to capture audiences. As CNBC reports, the movie's reviews are doing better than its box office numbers; its 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes is the third-highest for any film in the DCEU. CNN notes Harley Quinn has a loyal fan base, and moving her name up in the title may indeed nudge more people to buy tickets. (Robbie also appeared as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, which was not well-reviewed, to say the least.)

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