Perception vs Reality
If you ask fans who watched the film, Birds of Prey was a fun, entertaining film. But when compared to some of the “superhero genre” films, it didn’t measure up in it’s box office numbers. Unfortunately, it has come to be expected for “blockbuster” comic book films to make a billion dollars at the box office. When they don’t, it is perceived by some as a failure. While this is far from the truth, the perception remains. Director Cathy Yan knew this going in. She knew she would be up against past films performances and the expectations about the female-led film. She discussed those perceptions with Hollywood Reporter.
Cathy Yan speaks
I know that the studio had really high expectations for the movie — as we all did. 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. 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.
The comparison to the Marvel or DC blockbuster films is not really fair when considering the different budgets spent on the films. When you spend millions upon millions of dollars on a film, you expect to recoup those costs. The same kind of results, while may be desirable, probably shouldn’t be expected on a smaller budget. Once again perception reigns supreme. While it’s ok for another film of the same budget to bring in 30+ million on its opening day and be labeled a success, the same results are NOT accepted with a comic book film.
Do you feel that Birds of Prey under-performed? Is there reasons for that beyond what’s expected of such films? Share your financial evaluations with us at Geek Vibes Nation.
h/t: ComicBook
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
