In what’s turned out to be one of the recurring themes of the DCEU throughout the franchise’s entire existence, director Cathy Yan admitted that she wasn’t in complete control of her comic book adaptation Birds of Prey.
Not only did the filmmaker confirm that the final cut of the film was out of her hands, but Warner Bros. turned to John Wick‘s Chad Stahelski to helm the reshoots, which were designed to punch up the action sequences. Despite being cast aside late in the day, fans responded to Yan’s offbeat superhero adventure in an overwhelmingly positive fashion.
Sure, Birds of Prey may have bombed at the box office after barely scraping past $200 million globally, and it would still be the lowest-grossing installment in the franchise if it wasn’t for the pandemic hitting Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad in the pocket, but audiences instantly fell in love.
A 79% Rotten Tomatoes score also makes Birds of Prey the fourth best-reviewed entry in the series behind Wonder Woman, Shazam!, and The Suicide Squad, and it trends on a regular basis for no other reason than the fact folks love to celebrate the eccentricities of Harley Quinn’s solo spinoff.
There was an uproar when a sanitized, watered-down cut was accidentally uploaded to HBO Max last year, but the R-rated edition is playing like gangbusters on Netflix. As per FlixPatrol, Birds of Prey is currently the ninth most-watched title on the platform’s global charts, having seized a Top 3 spot in nine different countries.
That’s an impressive showing, and once again reinforces the enduring popularity of the titular team, even if a sequel doesn’t seem likely to happen.