'Bloodshot' Beat 'Birds Of Prey' In VOD Sales And You Should All Be Ashamed

One of the few good things about not reporting box office numbers at the moment is that we don't have to see how audiences around America ignore the critically acclaimed, underseen fare in favor of the bad popcorn flick of the month. But it turns out that, even with movie theaters closed around the country, things don't change much.

Last week, both Bloodshot and Birds of Prey, two comic book movies with wildly different critical receptions, hit digital platforms early amid coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. But despite the abysmal critical reception to Bloodshot (which sits at 29% on Rotten Tomatoes), and favorable reviews of Birds of Prey (78% on Rotten Tomatoes), Bloodshot came out on top in video-on-demand sales.

Sony's Bloodshot and Warner Bros.' Birds of Prey were both made available for purchase on digital platforms on March 24, a big day of digital releases of theatrical films. It was an early digital release for the films, both of which had only recently debuted in theaters — Bloodshot on March 13 and Birds of Prey on February 7.

Bloodshot had seen low box office returns in the weekend it hit theaters, mostly owing to the fact that it was one of the last films to hit theaters before mass coronavirus-affected closures and shutdowns. But you'd hope that audiences were also staying away from the Vin Diesel-starring dud, which /Film reviewer Chris Evangelista called "a big snooze." Meanwhile, Birds of Prey was considered a box office disappointment for Warner Bros. despite the film's positive reviews over Cathy Yan's stylish direction and star Margot Robbie's gonzo performance, but some of us held out hope that more audiences would "discover" the film once it hit VOD. Unfortunately, it seems more people sought out Bloodshot, which was No. 3 on the list of top 10 best-selling digital releases on FandangoNOW, Fandango's digital platform. Birds of Prey fell just behind it at No. 4.

However, great movies like The Invisible Man and Onward both did take the top spots, so there's hope yet. But it seems in the time of self-quarantine, even people bored out of their minds would rather watch Vin Diesel sleepily punch people than watch the candy-colored fun time that is Birds of Prey.

Here is Fandango's full list of 10 top VOD purchases this week: