Birds of Prey (2020 film)

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Harley standing on a giant clamshell, surrounded by the other characters, in a spoof of Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCathy Yan
Written byChristina Hodson
Based onCharacters
from DC
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMatthew Libatique
Edited by
Music byDaniel Pemberton
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • January 25, 2020 (2020-01-25) (Mexico City)
  • February 7, 2020 (2020-02-07) (United States)
Running time
109 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$82–100 million[3]
Box office$205.5 million[4][5]

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (also known as Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey[6][7] or simply Birds of Prey) is a 2020 American superhero film directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson, based on the DC Comics team the Birds of Prey. Produced by Warner Bros., DC Films, LuckyChap Entertainment, Clubhouse Pictures, and Kroll & Co. Entertainment, it is the eighth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and serves as a spin-off and sequel to Suicide Squad (2016). It stars Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, and Ewan McGregor. The film follows Harley Quinn, who, after breaking up with the Joker, is threatened by Gotham City crime lord Roman Sionis, and joins forces with Helena Bertinelli, Dinah Lance and Renee Montoya (who go on to form the Birds of Prey) to save Cassandra Cain.

Robbie, who also served as producer, pitched the idea for Birds of Prey to Warner Bros. in 2015. The film was announced in May 2016, with Hodson being hired to write the script that November, followed by Yan signing on to direct in April 2018. The majority of the cast and crew were confirmed by December 2018. Principal photography lasted from January to April 2019 in Downtown Los Angeles, parts of the Los Angeles Arts District, and soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Additional filming took place in September 2019.

The film had its world premiere in Mexico City on January 25, 2020, and was released in the United States in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, ScreenX and 4DX on February 7, 2020. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $205.5 million worldwide, falling short of its reported break-even point of $250–300 million.[3][8][9]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Birds of Prey (15)". British Board of Film Classification. January 14, 2020. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (February 10, 2020). "Why 'Birds of Prey' Whiffed at the Box Office". Variety. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Birds of Prey". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  6. ^ Anderton, Ethan (February 10, 2020). "'Birds of Prey' Gets a New Title in Theaters After Underperforming at the Box Office". /Film. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Aquilina, Tyler (February 10, 2020). "Birds of Prey gets new title after disappointing opening at box office". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "Shock Wave 2 - Financial Information China". Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  9. ^ "2020 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.