Suicide Squad Outgrosses Deadpool Overseas

There's a perception that DC Comics and Warner Bros. are flailing in getting their DC Extended Universe off the ground; however, that's not necessarily true. We here at Comicbook.com wrote about how The DCEU is making progress, and now, there are numbers to verify it: This summer's DCEU release, Suicide Squad has officially outpaced Marvel's breakout hit, Deadpool, at the international box office.

The milestone was commemorated by Exhibitor Relations, which released the following Tweet:

Score one for DC. SUICIDE SQUAD just shot past DEADPOOL internationally--$419.6M v $419.5M. Impressive.

— Exhibitor Relations (@ERCboxoffice) October 10, 2016

Domestically, the race isn't all that far apart, either. Deadpool holds a commanding $40 million lead over Suicide Squad, with $363 million compared to the latter's $322 million. Taken in summation, it would seem that the critical backlash against Suicide Squad (as well as the vocal sector of DC fans who hated the film) are not in fact the majority opinion.

So, while this may come as a shocking revelation to many Internet fans who have praised Deadpool while slamming Suicide Squad, it should probably serve as lesson to everyone. It should be remembered that there is a sector of casual movie viewers who exist outside the bubbles of online criticism and fandom, and that those people have the power to boost box office earnings, no matter how many angry comment threads or petitions that angry fans want to circulate.

That said, this has been quite a year of surprises for the superhero movie genre. Nobody thought that Deadpool would be as successful as it turned out to be; and after it was, few thought that Suicide Squad would be able to outpace Deadpool on any front. Yet here we are.

So let the flame war begin: why do you think international audiences were more in love with Suicide Squad than Deadpool? Is the star power, the premise, was the experience just more fun for them? Or is it because Deadpool's R-rating is more restrictive in some foreign markets?

Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @ComicBookNOW or @KofiOutlaw

Deadpool is already airing on HBO; Suicide Squad is set to release its extended cut edition on Digital Download November 28, and on Blu-ray (4K and 3D) on December 5.