In February, the new adaptation of Mortal Kombat became the most viewed red band trailer of all time with 116 million views in a single week. But there’s already a new record holder. James Gunn‘s DC Comics sequel The Suicide Squad is now the most viewed red band trailer, delivering a crushing fatality to Mortal Kombat.
James Gunn announced the record-breaking news on Friday, just before the Easter holiday weekend:
I just got word #TheSuicideSquad redband trailer set a new record for most views of a redband trailer in a week, with over 150 million views worldwide. I'm incredibly grateful to all of you for making this happen! THANK YOU! ??? pic.twitter.com/3bRFBDcvOV
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 2, 2021
Deadline followed up with official confirmation from Warner Bros. Pictures that the Suicide Squad red band trailer (watch it here) reached 151.1 million views in the first week. The movie was also trending in 40 different markets on YouTube (a dozen less than Mortal Kombat) and 28 markets on Twitter.
Before Mortal Kombat came along, it was 20th Century Fox who was dominating the red band trailer viewership records thanks to Logan and the raunchy comic book sequel Deadpool 2. But now Warner Bros. is king of the red band trailers with both Mortal Kombat and The Suicide Squad taking the top honors. Maybe they can replicate that success again later this year when the trailer for The Matrix 4 arrives?
This kind of hype bodes well for The Suicide Squad, which had to overcome the bad blood leftover from the first Suicide Squad movie back in 2016. Though the movie was a huge box office hit with over $746.8 million worldwide, the movie was a mess thanks to some studio meddling that made significant changes to the final cut. Unfortunately, it sounds like David Ayer won’t get to follow in the footsteps of Zack Snyder by seeing his cut of Suicide Squad released. I guess there are consequences for lying.
The Suicide Squad roster includes Margot Robbie as Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn; Idris Elba as Robert DuBois / Bloodsport; John Cena as Christopher Smith / Peacemaker; Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag; Peter Capaldi as Clifford DeVoe / The Thinker; Jai Courtney as George “Digger” Harkness / Captain Boomerang; Pete Davidson as Richard Hertz / Blackguard; David Dastmalchian as Abner Krill / Polka-Dot Man; Michael Rooker as Brian Durlin / Savant; Nathan Fillion as Floyd Belkin / T.D.K.; Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2; Steve Agee as Nanaue / King Shark; Sean Gunn as John Monroe / Weasel, and many more.
The Suicide Squad is slated to hit theaters and HBO Max (for 31 days) starting on August 6, 2021.
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