‘Justice League’ Is A Box Office Flop For DC Extended Universe With $39M Friday

Reeling in only $38.8 million at the domestic box office in its debut day on Friday, Justice League is headed for a disappointing opening weekend.

The fifth installment of the DC Extended Universe raked in an underwhelming over $70 million internationally. With the opening day cumulative of nearly $110 million, the film marks a 15 percent drop from early predictions, according to Variety. During its opening weekend, Justice League opens at 4,051 North American locations.

Critics at CinemaScore gave Justice League a B+ score, while Rotten Tomatoes slapped the latest superhero film with a 40 percent score. By contrast, Marvel’s most recent box office hit, Thor: Ragnarok, which has thundered to over $670 million internationally, boasts 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

With an estimated budget of around $300 million, Justice League, which stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman and many others, could become the latest flop for Warner Bros’ DC Extended Universe.

Although Justice League topped critically-acclaimed Wonder Woman’s $38m opening day setback, moviegoers may be turned off after the disappointing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, which scored 27 percent and 26 percent on Rotten Tomatoes respectively.

Interestingly, Suicide Squad earned $133 million in its opening weekend last year. With Justice League combining beloved superheroes such as Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gadot), Superman (Cavill) Aquaman (Momoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), many critics expected the DC film to get a more successful debut.

Disney-Marvel’s box office hit Thor: Ragnarok earned $20 million in its third Friday, becoming the third highest grossed movie on Friday. Julia Roberts’ Wonder reeled in around $27 million, slotting into second place. Last week, the latest Thor installment became the 12th consecutive Marvel Cinematic Universe film to top $500 million worldwide.

Zack Snyder, who directed 2016’s Dawn of Justice and 2013’s Man of Steel, began shooting Justice League in April 2016. Joss Whedon, who directed Disney-Marvel’s two Avengers films, filled Snyder’s shoes after the tragic suicide of Snyder’s daughter in March.

Justice League also stars Amy Adams, Amber Heard, Jeremy Irons, J.K. Simmons, and Willem Dafoe.

[Featured Image by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP Images]