8 Reasons Why The Suicide Squad Just Bombed At The Box-Office

3. The Last Harley Quinn Movie Was A Flop

margot robbie the suicide squad
Warner Bros. Pictures

If Margot Robbie continues to knock it out of the park as Harley Quinn, she might one day end up in that category of "born to play this role" superhero actors, like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man.

But as beloved as the deranged court jester is in online circles, it might be time to accept the fact that Harley just isn't that popular among general audiences.

The character clearly had some sort of appeal with the original Suicide Squad, but that had completely vanished by the time the underwhelming Birds Of Prey released last year. Yes, that movie was hampered by its awfully long original title and its pointless R-rating (a huge mistake considering that many youngsters had fallen in love with Harley in the PG-13 Suicide Squad), but it underperformed regardless, earning $201 million worldwide on an $84 million budget.

Momentum is a very real thing in the movie world, and coming into The Suicide Squad, Harley didn't have any. She didn't give Birds Of Prey a massive bump, and clearly, she didn't do a whole lot for this movie, either.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.