8 Reasons Suicide Squad Became A Box Office Success (Despite Being Terrible)

2. It Was Playing In A Quiet August

Normally the late-summer blockbuster release is a smaller one compared to the juggernauts of May and July, but because everything’s supersized in the 2016 cinema landscape, that “smaller” movie (Suicide Squad, in case you forgot) was still a biggie. And, even though release patterns are shifting to have major tentpoles released in all months (except – shudder – January), this August was a quiet one.

Think about it, what came out? The big releases were Pete’s Dragon, Sausage Party, Kubo, War Dogs, Hell Or High Water and Ben-Hur, and, despite some solid movies in there (Hell Or High Water’s a “best of the year” candidate for sure), none really pose a threat at the box office. The closest is Sausage Party, and that turned out to be quite niche.

So Suicide Squad essentially had a whole month to itself, only falling from the top spot when Don’t Breathe came and finished off an already finished run. Any movie with the appeal we’ve discussed could clean up in those circumstances, and it just happened to be the Sqwad.