Why did Birds of Prey underperform? Director Cathy Yan weighs in

Although it received plenty of praise and attention since its release back in February, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) had a modest debut at the box office, bringing in a mere $84 million in North America and $114 million internationally. Given its smaller-than-usual budget, the film’s box-office performance wasn’t terrible — but it certainly doesn’t hold its own among other superhero films, even others in the DC Extended Universe. (For comparison’s sake, Wonder Woman brought in around $400 million both domestically and internationally.) In fact, the title of the movie was even changed following its disappointing opening in the hopes that it would drum up more business.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, director Cathy Yan gave her take on why the movie performed, and why that was so disappointing for her. “I know that the studio had really high expectations for the movie — as we all did,” Yan said. “There were also undue expectations on a female-led movie, and what I was most disappointed in was this idea that perhaps it proved that we weren’t ready for this yet.”

Yan, of course, is referring to the criticism the film received even before hitting theaters, mostly from DC fans upset that Birds of Prey didn’t cater to a male audience. She also emphasized that she had certain expectations placed on her as a woman of color in the director’s seat.

"That was an extra burden that, as a woman-of-color director, I already had on me anyway. So, yes, I think there were certainly different ways you could interpret the success or lack of success of the movie, and everyone has a right to do that. But, I definitely do feel that everyone was pretty quick to jump on a certain angle."

Whatever angle you take, it’s likely we’ll at least see Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn again in Suicide Squad 2, and potentially in a Birds of Prey sequel. With any luck, the later installments will see a better response than Birds of Prey did. And if you’re interested in watching the movie now, it was released on demand earlier than usual thanks to people needing things to watch during the world’s ongoing coronavirus-inspired lockdown.

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