AceShowbiz - Margot Robbie's "Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn" has landed atop the North American box office with a lukewarm $33.3 million (£25.8 million) gross.

The "Suicide Squad" spin-off, which features the "Bombshell" star reprising her role as DC Comics villain Harley Quinn, banked enough to fly to number one, but fell far short of earning expectations for its launch, which experts guessed would reach at least $50 million (£38.8 million).

The muted opening makes the R-rated "Birds of Prey", which had an estimated budget of $100 million (£77.5 million), the lowest-grossing movie adaptation in the DC Extended Universe; "Shazam!" previously held that title with a $53 million (£41.1 million) debut last year (19).

The film, directed by Cathy Yan, struggled at the international box office too, generating just $48 million (£37.2 million) from territories outside North America, although Warner Bros. studio officials cite the coronavirus outbreak for putting a big dent in global box office figures, particularly in Asia.

Despite the disappointing start, it was enough to beat Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's "Bad Boys for Life", which falls to second place with $12 million (£9.3 million) after three weeks at number one.

Oscars favourite "1917" takes third place, with "Dolittle" and "Jumanji: The Next Level" rounding out the new top five in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for Feb. 7-9:

1. "Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn" - $33.2 million
2. "Bad Boys for Life" - $12 million
3. "1917" - $9 million
4. "Dolittle" - $6.6 million
5. "Jumanji: The Next Level" - $5.5 million
6. "The Gentlemen" - $4.1 million
7. "Gretel & Hansel" - $3.5 million
8. "Knives Out" - $2.35 million
9. "Little Women" - $2.32 million
10. "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" - $2.2 million