After impressing critics with a very high score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Suicide Squad has scored big at the box office as well. On its opening night, the movie's Thursday preview pulled in about $4.1 million at the box office, which is the biggest for an R-rated movie released during the pandemic. It's also an early indication of what should be a strong opening weekend as The Suicide Squad is projected to earn $30 million domestically with a worldwide haul of $70 million total.

Oddly enough, David Ayer's Suicide Squad set the record for the biggest domestic box office opening for August with $133.7 million, and the movie still holds that record. The critical reception between the different versions of The Suicide Squad is far different, however, as Gunn's movie has a 93% certified fresh rating with an 89% audience score. Ayer's Suicide Squad sits at 26% rotten with critics with a 59% score from the audience.

Of course, some might say that the negative reception is due to the studio meddling with Ayer's project, changing what was his original vision for Suicide Squad. His fans have since been campaigning for Warner Bros. to #ReleaseTheAyerCut an original version of the movie before the studio mandated several changes. Gunn has conversely been open about how Warner Bros. essentially gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted with The Suicide Squad.

In any case, people are loving the new movie. It brings back several actors from the original, including Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, and Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang. Newcomers to the cast in major roles include Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, Peter Capaldi as the Thinker, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, and Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2.

Some fans are saying King Shark steals the show by gobbling up every scene he's in. With motion capture provided by Steve Agee, the popular character is voiced by screen legend Sylvester Stallone. King Shark was quickly trending on Twitter after Thursday's premiere as thousands of gains praised Stallone's performance and the design of the hungry supervillain.

John Cena's Peacemaker is another character that stood out for Gunn. The pair have already finished shooting a spinoff series that will feature Cena in the central role, though not much else has been revealed about its plot or which other characters from The Suicide Squad might appear. Gunn has also suggested that he's open to returning to DC after he's finished with shooting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Marvel.

"Gunn is always welcome back, whatever he wants to do. He really has a vision and he's a great partner with us. Whenever he wants to come back, we're ready for him," said DC Films president Hamada, via The Hollywood Reporter. "He'll be back. We have more stuff planned."

The Suicide Squad is now playing in movie theaters and on HBO Max. In January 2022, the spinoff series Peacemaker will be released, and Gunn has also teased that more seasons of the show could be made. This news comes to us from Deadline.