Suicide Squad set to break box office records - despite poor reviews

The DC flick made a killing at the Friday box office, grossing a whopping $65.1 million

Suicide Squad may have no friends amongst critics, with the DC flick slammed with poor reviews; yet, that hasn't stopped it from making a killing at its opening box office.

The film's Friday takings came to an impressive $65.1 million in the US, gearing up for a projected $145- $150 million weekend gross, which would mark the top opening of all time for an August release; while currently putting it ahead of the likes of Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy.

The David Ayer-directed project's also done well overseas, landing $64.6 million in its first three days. One of the most refreshing facts to come out of this opening weekend is the revelation women made up 46% of Friday's audience, according to CinemaScore (via The Hollywood Reporter).

That's likely due to the fact Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn formed such a central part of the film's marketing campaign. Women also seemed to rate the film more highly, giving it an A- versus an average score of B+ amongst moviegoers.

A small word of warning here - Batman v Superman also overcame its poor reviews to break the Easter Weekend box office record on its opening weekend, before suffering an 81% drop on its second weekend - the lowest for any comic book-inspired movie.

With such a stellar marketing campaign surrounding the film, its gargantuan box office opening shouldn't come as any great surprise; the true test for Suicide Squad comes next weekend, when we'll really see whether the gang can go the distance.

Suicide Squad is in cinemas now.