In an attempt to salvage its poor opening at the Box Office, Warner Bros. has decided to change the theatrical name of its newest DCEU movie Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) to the much simpler (and frankly not as fun) Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.
Warner Bros. and DC both most probably came to the conclusion that the movie’s original title was simply too much of a mouthful, plus it placed its lead character, Harley Quinn, all the way at the back. After all, most other superhero movies traditionally have the names of its lead character’s right in front, such as Deadpool, Wonder Woman, or Black Panther. We all call the film Birds of Prey since that’s what in the first part of the film’s title but those not familiar with DC might not realise it’s a Harley Quinn movie at first glance.
What’s interesting is that the movie does indeed have good reviews from critics and fans who’ve gone to watch the movie, with a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. This shows that Birds of Prey didn’t get off to a slow start in the box office because it was bad, but there probably just wasn’t enough people watching the movie.
With Harley Quinn’s name front and centre now on the film’s title, it should hopefully attract more people to watch the show.
That said, there are fans that are not happy with Warner Bros. decision to change the film’s originally quirky title. After all, it was very Harley and now… it’s not.
We guess it is difficult to please everyone but at the end of the day, box office numbers and good reviews are what matters most to a film.
It is worth noting that Birds of Prey opened at number one in the Singapore box office, despite the lack of name changing. The film’s title will also remain unchanged in theatres across Singapore. It is highly likely this change will only affect theatres in America.
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
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Trinity Sun
