"Birds of Prey" Is Already Getting a Title Change in the US (But Not Australia, Yet)

It comes after a not-so-fantabulous opening weekend.

Hey, we were as surprised as anyone to discover that Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) was actually good, especially after the execrable Suicide Squad.

But it seems too many people were burnt by Harley Quinn’s previous adventure, and failed to flock to Margot Robbie’s new-and-improved spin-off over the weekend.

In the United States, it earned a modest $US33 million, despite studio Warner Bros. hoping for a launch between $US45 and $US55 million. Internationally, it did okay, and in fact over-indexed in Australia with $AUD4.03. But it appears the American team at WB have gone into panic mode, and instructed US cinemas to change the long title to the simpler Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.

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Screen Rant confirms that WB instructed multiple theatre chains to change the name, presumably to bring Harley Quinn front-and-center, rather than as the 10th and 11th words of the title. It’s unlikely, however, that the long-winded title was a significant reason for the film’s underperformance at the box office, but until WB discover the technology to scrub remnants of Suicide Squad from our collective memories, it’s the only move they’ve got.

Actually, I lie. Since the experts believe the film’s hefty R rating in the States (equivalent to our MA15+ down under) kept young viewers away, WB could still decide to re-release a PG cut a’la Once Upon a Deadpool, but that’s a real last-ditch solution, and hopefully word of mouth keeps the film’s box office prospects alive. Besides, the gore is half the fun of Birds of Prey!

We’ve checked Australian theatrical exhibitors’ websites, and all of them are still promoting the flick with the original title. We’ve also reached out to ask a few if they’ve been contacted by WB locally, and though we’ll update this article accordingly if things change, one has already told us, "Not yet!"

It’s also still listed with the full mouthful of a title on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, so, clearly, WB are just looking to boost ticket sales rather than rebrand the movie entirely. Regardless, you can probably expect the film to be entirely changed to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey when it becomes available to buy or stream from home. Remember what happened to Live. Die. Repeat (formally known as Edge of Tomorrow)? If only Netflix would retitle The Irishman as I Heard You Paint Houses, as Marty actually christened the film during the opening credits anyway!

Header Image: Warner Bros.