Every now and then I’ll have a passing interest in this or that fanboy film — emphasis on “passing.” But for a while, the James Gunn factor meant something. It lent a certain edge and intrigue. I used to regard his fanboy flicks as clever and amusing and certainly worth catching. I was a huge fan of Super (’10) and Guardians of the Galaxy (’14). Then I saw Guardians 2 and had a half-meh reaction. Then I felt enormous sympathy and compassion when Gunn was thrown into the Disney doghouse over some old tweets.

But I didn’t have the slightest, fleeting interest in seeing Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros., 8.5), which opened two nights ago and has semi-tanked. Okay, “underperformed.” I didn’t read about it, watch the trailer, read the reviews…nothing. It’s sitting right there on HBO Max, and I couldn’t care less.

The Suicide Squad earned around $12 million yesterday in 4,002 theaters plus $4.1 million on Thursday night. By Sunday night the tally should be in the mid-to-high $20 million range, according to Deadline‘s Anthony D’Alessandro.

D’Allessandro on 8.4: “Total global opening we’re pegging is at $70M; $30M from 4,000 U.S./Canada theaters and $40M from abroad. Stateside, unlike previous Warner Bros./HBO Max movies, there will be Thursday previews starting at 7PM. It would not be shocking should Suicide Squad approach $40M domestic.”

D’Alessandro current: “Some continue to wonder whether the delta variant is the contributing factor here in further upsetting the grosses for Suicide Squad, a movie which won over critics at 92% certified fresh; the best reviewed in the DC villain ensemble trilogy.

“It’s an easy excuse to make in a marketplace where some studios continue to fool around with the dynamic window. Warners isn’t sorry about sticking with their HBO Max/theatrical plan after recent New York Times headlines about restaurants struggling, and WSJ reporting a dip in travel despite an earlier summer boom. Granted, there is a mixed message out there about the surging variant, particularly since we haven’t returned to lockdown, and kids are heading back to college to stay in dorms. We continue to live and manage life with the virus. Of those I’ve spoken to in the industry, no one is really expecting the vaccine card mandate in NYC or LA to effect business.”