Presentation and being able to read the room is a must. 
And DC/Warner Bros. can seemingly do neither for multiple films in a row.
This was presented as Suicide Squad with t*ts (a movie that, despite making a profit, was divisive among critics and moviegoers), advertised it poorly since they relied so much on Harley (who in wrestling terms has never been THE draw, but mainly someone who is paired with others like Ivy/The Sirens, The Joker, or Bats in order to draw) that we NEVER got any real gleam of character for the other ladies, and cut out large groups of potential customers with HOW they marketed it:
- Cut out kids with the Hard R Rating (Which wasn't needed since it was hardly violent or vulgar enough to warrant it)
- Marketed unapologetically as a Female Empowerment Fantasy without compromise. Which isn't BAD, if you can do it with nuance and subtlety that doesn't come off as insulting to both bases. But Hollywood only knows how to write these kinda movies one way soooohhhhh...a lot of men weren't seeing this solo.
- Again, presenting it as Suicide Squad with female leads... self-explanatory.
- And (Without too many spoilers) Mishandling several comic book characters in their film debuts pretty much lost the comic book crowd.
Not to mention releasing this on the heels of The Joker, which only came out like 3-4 months ago. While it SEEMED like a good idea at the time, both movies were drastically different in style and tone, as well as intended audiences. That overlay in fans was never gonna happen unless this was either a follow-up or interconnected somehow.
And DC/Warner Bros. can seemingly do neither for multiple films in a row.This was presented as Suicide Squad with t*ts (a movie that, despite making a profit, was divisive among critics and moviegoers), advertised it poorly since they relied so much on Harley (who in wrestling terms has never been THE draw, but mainly someone who is paired with others like Ivy/The Sirens, The Joker, or Bats in order to draw) that we NEVER got any real gleam of character for the other ladies, and cut out large groups of potential customers with HOW they marketed it:
- Cut out kids with the Hard R Rating (Which wasn't needed since it was hardly violent or vulgar enough to warrant it)
- Marketed unapologetically as a Female Empowerment Fantasy without compromise. Which isn't BAD, if you can do it with nuance and subtlety that doesn't come off as insulting to both bases. But Hollywood only knows how to write these kinda movies one way soooohhhhh...a lot of men weren't seeing this solo.
- Again, presenting it as Suicide Squad with female leads... self-explanatory.
- And (Without too many spoilers) Mishandling several comic book characters in their film debuts pretty much lost the comic book crowd.
Not to mention releasing this on the heels of The Joker, which only came out like 3-4 months ago. While it SEEMED like a good idea at the time, both movies were drastically different in style and tone, as well as intended audiences. That overlay in fans was never gonna happen unless this was either a follow-up or interconnected somehow.
