Those of you patiently waiting for The Suicide Squad to debut on HBO Max are in for a treat, as the James Gunn-directed film will appear on the streaming service earlier than expected.
HBO Max is now promoting The Suicide Squad with a release time and date of 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 5. The film was originally slated to make its HBO Max premiere on Friday, Aug. 6. The ad features Idris Elba's Bloodsport, John Cena's Peacemaker and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn each wielding their weapon of choice, with the text reading, "A hot mess starts tonight at 7 pm ET.. It's chaotic, but you'll love it. James Gunn's new movie arrives early, in theaters and on HBO Max Aug. 5. Streams for 31 days."
Box office projections for The Suicide Squad expect the film to make $30 million during its opening weekend. This is despite worries of theater traffic being diminished due to the rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, along with the film being offered free to HBO Max subscribers.
The earlier-than-normal release for The Suicide Squad just happens to coincide with James Gunn's birthday. The writer/director has been busy promoting The Suicide Squad, even taking the time out to respond to Martin Scorsese's Marvel movie complaints. "I just think it seems awful cynical that he would keep coming out against Marvel and then that is the only thing that would get him press for his movie," Gunn said. "So he just kept coming out against Marvel so that he could get press for his movie. He's creating his movie in the shadow of the Marvel films, and so he uses that to get attention for something he wasn't getting as much attention as he wanted for it."
James Gunn also commented on Snyder Cut fans review-bombing The Suicide Squad. The director tweeted, "I’ll live - stuff like this means nothing in the big picture. (And important to point out most the SnyderCut fans have been supportive, it's only a few who feel it's worthwhile spending their time doing stuff like this.)"
The Suicide Squad premieres Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. ET on HBO Max, and in theaters Aug. 6.
Source: HBO Max