Suicide Squad sets box office record in the US despite poor reviews

Suicide Squad has set a new box office record in the US despite being panned by critics.

David Ayer’s new DC Comics film, starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, made an impressive $135.1 million during its first weekend, which is a record for August openings.

Clearly not put off by the bad reviews, film fans flocked to cinemas over the weekend to see the gang of villains team up to fight evil.

Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros’ distribution executive vice president, said that the takings “bested anything that we could have expected.”

He added: “The elephant in the room is that the reviews were harsh. Clearly there's disconnect between audiences and critics.”

The film reportedly cost $175 million to make, including a number of re-shoots and re-cuts of the final edit.

Internationally, the film is also doing well, making $132 million in 57 territories, making it a worldwide total of $267.1 million.

The opening of Suicide Squad pushed Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne into second place, making just £22.7 million.

Many fans and critics were disappointed by the small amount of screen time that Jared Leto’s Joker gets in the film.

The actor recently revealed that he had had most of his scenes cut from the film, insisting that he’d filmed enough for an entire movie.

“I brought so much to the table in every scene,” he told Edith Bowman and Mark Kermode.