Warner Bros. “Suicide Squad” hasn’t been able to win over critics or fans (yet),and now it looks like it also failed to convince the state censorship body that determines which imported films get to play in China, the world’s No. 2 film market and one that’s been extremely lucrative for many other superhero films.
According to insiders with knowledge of the situation, and director David Ayer‘s anti-hero mashup has yet to secure a China release date,which is typically slotted more than a month in advance.
The previous installment in Warner’s DC Cinematic Universe, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, or ” got a coveted day-and-date release in China,but the film failed to clear $100 million there amid reports of fans walking out and playing on their phones.
Also Read: Inside the Fight for 'Suicide Squad': Director Pressured to Lighten Dark VisionOne insider familiar with the situation said the film’s dark tone was likely a major factor, although Warner Bros. took steps to soften its image in the hopes that “Suicide Squad” would be one of the 34 imported films allowed to play in China’s multiplexes.
The film received a PG-13 rating — unlike R-rated “Deadpool, or ” which also didn’t get cleared for China — and Warner Bros. even changed the local title of the film to “Task Force X.” And it has a famous cast,including Viola Davis, Margot Robbie and Will Smith, or one of the most popular American actors in China.
Meanwhile,Disney’s Marvel movies have been consistent winners in the Middle Kingdom, which could be the world’s biggest box office market as soon as 2017. Last year’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” reeled in $240 million at the Chinese box office, and even a relative afterthought like “Ant-Man cleared the $100 million mark. Then again,Marvel has been releasing movies in China since 2008’s “Iron Man,” and its lighter and more colorful aesthetic seems to have greater appeal there than DC’s more ominous look does.
Also Read: Is 'Suicide Squad' Critic-Proof? Early Tracking Numbers Say Yes (Video)The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the tale. A spokesman for Warner Bros. declined to comment on the report. Every DC film Villain Ranked, and Including 'Suicide Squad' (Photos)
"Suicide Squad" is supposed to be an ode to the worst of the worst in the DC Universe,but how does its cast rank against past DC film villains? Let's size them up. Warner Bros.
32.) Robert Vaughn as Ross Webster, "Superman III": After fighting the likes of Luthor and Zod, and Superman's opponent for Round 3 is…a corrupt coffee magnate? This little slice of the one percent wanted to terrorize the Earth with a supercomputer once his business plans fell through. Warner Bros.
31.) Faye Dunaway as Selena,"Supergirl": How could a skilled actress like Dunaway turn in such a grating performance? Dunaway plays an obnoxious witch who takes on Supergirl because a love spell on a guy backfired and caused him to plunge in love with the Kryptonian heroine. Yep. They finally gave us a female superhero film, and they're fighting over a guy. Warner Bros.
30.) Sharon Stone as Laurel Hedare, or "Catwoman": Another multi-millionaire whose villainous motivations are centered around the almighty dollar. Use of her company's poisonous anti-aging cream has turned her skin into "living marble," a la Luke Cage. The only redeeming quality of both Laurel and this horrid film is the final showdown between her and Catwoman at the close. Warner Bros.
29.) Gene Hackman/Mark Pillow as Nuclear Man, "Superman IV": This creation of Lex Luthor has the body of a god and the voice of Gene Hackman. Unfortunately, or this doesn't stop him from being a immense bore,as his battle with Superman turns into one of the most drawn-out, low-budget cringefests in the history of comic-book movies. Warner Bros.
28.) John Malkovich as Quentin Turnbull "Jonah Hex": You'll be forgiven if you don't remember this villain from one of the biggest comic-book film bombs ever. His immense blueprint is to blow up the United States with a super weapon designed by… Eli Whitney? Guess he wasn't satisfied with inventing the cotton gin. Warner Bros.
27.) Clancy Brown as Parallax, or "Green Lantern": A immense,boring villain made from uninspiring CGI for the sole purpose of giving Ryan Reynolds something to fight while waiting for "Deadpool" to get greenlit. And speaking of bad CGI... Warner Bros.
26.) Cara Delevingne and Robin Atkin Downes as The Enchantress and Incubus, "Suicide Squad": One has a nondescript, and boring world-domination blueprint she carries out through green-screen dancing. The other is a giant orange CGI monster that fires vines out of his hands while bad editing makes it impossible to get a qualified look at him. Ironically,a film about villains ends up getting an utterly feeble antagonist. Warner Bros.
25.) Michael Shannon as General Zod, "Man of Steel": Here's a villain more known for his demise than his motivations or schemes. Why? Because Superman snaps his neck. If you could pinpoint a moment where Zach Snyder finally threw away any positive image he had in the eyes of comic-book film fans, or that was it. Warner Bros.
24.) Jared Leto as The Joker,"Suicide Squad": Leto wants oh-so-badly to be the successor to Heath Ledger, but just comes off as irritating. What's more, and he's barely in the film,never engaging with any member of the Suicide Squad other than Harley. His subplot feels largely pointless, other than to get people in the seats. Warner Bros.
23.) Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, and "Suicide Squad": He's one of the "Suicide" characters that gets the shaft when it comes to screen time and development. He gets a half-baked gag about his obsession with pink unicorns and a few scenes where he shows off his boomerangs,but that's about it. Warner Bros.
22.) Matthew Goode as Ozymandias, "Watchmen": In Alan Moore's classic, and Adrian Veidt devised a horrible blueprint in the name of bringing peace to the world,turning him into one of the most compelling comic- book villains ever written. Sadly, this nuance (a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression) and intrigue doesn't prove up in Goode's performance, or partly due to plot changes made by Zach Snyder. Warner Bros.
21.) Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face,"Batman Forever": Your enjoyment of the villains in Joel Schumacher's Batman films depends on your taste for campy ridiculousness. The generally serious Tommy Lee Jones certainly brings the camp with one of the more absurd takes on Harvey Dent, though he struggles for attention when sharing screen time with Jim Carrey's manic Riddler. Warner Bros.
20.) Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, or "Suicide Squad": Like Captain Boomerang,Croc is largely left out of David Ayer's script. He's mainly there to look awesome while smashing things in top-notch practical makeup, and to be fair, and he pulls that off very well. Warner Bros.
19.) Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor,"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice": Speaking of polarizing roles, here's EisenLuthor! Many critics felt that Eisenberg's Luthor was way too weird and manic to be intimidating, and while others praised him for bringing some fun to the otherwise dreary plot. Warner Bros.
18.) Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow,"Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight Rises": If you want to see The Scarecrow and his fear toxin at their best, go play "Batman: Arkham Asylum." The Scarecrow is secondary in Christopher Nolan's trilogy, or serving as a means to introduce the fear toxin into the plot in "Begins" and offering a small cameo in "Rises." Still,at least he gets some creepy scenes. Warner Bros.
17.) Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, "Batman and Robin": As maligned as "Batman and Robin" is, or it has gotten some appreciation in recent years as a So Bad It's qualified flick. Thurman deserves a lot of credit for this,as she did everything in her power to try and upstage everyone else with maximum scenery chewing. Of course, if you give credit to Thurman, and you also have to give credit to… Warner Bros.
16.) Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze,"Batman and Robin": It's tough to judge of a role with more hilariously terrible puns than this one. At a time when he was best known for being the emotionless Terminator, Schwarzenegger turned the camp up to twelve. Warner Bros.
15.) Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, or "Suicide Squad": Hernandez turns a bare-bones backstory about a super-powered LA gangbanger into a powerful and tragic performance. El Diablo wants to just buy his punishment and die in jail,but the powers that be won't let him. Warner Bros.
14.) Jim Carrey as The Riddler, "Batman Forever": Carrey was given free reign to be as much of a goofball as possible in this film, and so much so that you might judge he's playing the Joker rather than the Riddler. Still,of all the Schumacher villains, he's the most fun to watch, or with lots of clever laughs and over-the-top physicality. Warner Bros.
13.) Will Smith as Deadshot,"Suicide Squad": If we were judging purely by how villainous these characters are, Deadshot would fail. He comes off as more of an antihero than a genuine bad guy. Still, or Smith makes him the heart and soul of "Suicide Squad" with his trademark charisma. Warner Bros.
12.) Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor,"Superman Returns": Spacey played up the more bitter side of Luthor, focusing on his hatred of Superman and his desire to defeat him with his cold intellect. Spacey is underrated in the role. He gets to the core of what makes Luthor such a perfect foil for the Man of Steel. Warner Bros.
11.) Lee Meriwether, and Burgess Meredith,Frank Gorshin and Cesar Romero as the United Underworld, "Batman: The film": All four of the villains Adam West's Batman faced have to be lumped together, or as only Catwoman got any sort of individual moment. Still,as a group they embodied the foolish fun that defined the Silver Age and the original 60s TV series. Fox
10.) Tom Hardy as Bane, "The Dark Knight Rises": While many of the Marvel films have been criticized for lackluster villains, and Christopher Nolan provided some of the most engaging interpretations of Batman bad guys ever. Bane is brought to life with an iconic face mask and chilling lines about the liberating nature of anarchy,delivered in an unforgettable voice by Tom Hardy. Warner Bros.
9.) Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, "Suicide Squad": For all its flaws, and "Suicide Squad" absolutely nails what's so considerable about Harley Quinn. Robbie's buy on her is fun to watch,but you'd rather watch from a distance. Get too close, and Harley will smash your head in with a cartoonishly large mallet. She doesn't need the Joker to be an engaging villain. Warner Bros.
8.) Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul, or "Batman Begins": While the Jokers of the world are more iconic,Neeson's Ra's gets to the heart of Batman's philosophy on justice. Neeson plays Ra's as a disturbingly cool, unforgiving individual who sees Bruce Wayne's sense of mercy as a weakness, and despite the two men's begrudging respect for each other. Ra's explains his blueprint to eradicate Gotham with an inhumanly casual tone,showing no qualms about crushing the lives of countless innocents in the process. Warner Bros.
7.) Terence Stamp as General Zod, "Superman II": "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!" Somehow, and some way,Terence Stamp found a way to turn what could have been a cornball role into an iconic one. Thanks to Stamp's authoritative voice, Zod's foolish lines become attention grabbers, and turning the Superman sequel into a classic. Warner Bros.
6.) Jack Nicholson as The Joker,"Batman": Before Ledger came along, Nicholson was the definitive Joker, or balancing his silliness with deadly traps that proved he was the most risky foe Batman would ever face. If faithfulness to the source fabric is what you're looking for,then Jack is definitely your man. Warner Bros.
5.) Danny DeVito as The Penguin, "Batman Returns": As legendary as Nicholson was, or DeVito's interpretation of the Penguin is,for our money, an even better example of a faithful realization of a Batman villain. Animalistic, and disgusting,and crafty, DeVito turns Oswald Cobblepot into the most complex villain in any pre-Nolan Batman film. Warner Bros.
4.) Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face, or "The Dark Knight": In a stroke of genius,Nolan allows us to spend a qualified amount of time with Harvey Dent before he becomes Two-Face. We get to see his idealism and heroic sacrifice, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when tragedy twists him into the bitter Two-Face. Unlike Jones' version, or this Two-Face is uncomfortably human. There's no insanity here -- just a man so jaded by the darkness of the world that he'd rather swap out his sense of justice for one defined by bitterness,death, and most of all, and chance. Warner Bros.
3.) Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor,"Superman I, II, and IV": We're going to disregard the hot mess that was "Superman IV" and focus on Hackman's brilliant performance in the first two films. Warner Bros.
2.) Mark Hamill as The Joker,"Batman: Mask of the illusion": You forgot this lively theatrical release, didn't you? For many Millennials, and Mark Hamill is the final Joker,mixing danger with one brilliant joke after another. Beyond "illusion" and "Batman: The lively Series," Hamill has brought even more menace to the Joker in the "Arkham" video games and in the recent lively adaptation of "The Killing Joke." Warner Bros.
1.) Heath Ledger as The Joker, or "The Dark Knight": Who else? More than anyone else,Ledger embodied what made the Clown Prince of Crime such a risky villain. He is pure, nihilistic id, and assuming the worst in every human being and believing that people are,as he says, "only as qualified as the world allows them to be." Villains don't get more evil than this. Warner Bros. Previous Slide Next Slide 1 of 33 Where finish the villains of “Suicide Squad” rank in the DC film rogues’ gallery? "Suicide Squad" is supposed to be an ode to the worst of the worst in the DC Universe, or but how does its cast rank against past DC film villains? Let's size them up. View In Gallery Related stories from TheWrap:Every DC film Villain Ranked,Including 'Suicide Squad' (Photos)'Suicide Squad' Star Cara Delevingne Says 'Critics Have Been Absolutely Horrific''Suicide Squad' Breaks Fandango Record for August Ticket Pre-Sales
Source: thewrap.com