| Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Cathy Yan |
| Written by | Christina Hodson |
| Based on | Characters from DC |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Matthew Libatique |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Daniel Pemberton |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 109 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $82–100 million[3] |
| Box office | $205.4 million |
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)[a] is a 2020 American superhero film directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson, based on the DC Comics team the Birds of Prey. Produced by Warner Bros., DC Films, LuckyChap Entertainment, Clubhouse Pictures, and Kroll & Co. Entertainment, it is the eighth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and serves as a spin-off and sequel to Suicide Squad (2016). It stars Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, and Ewan McGregor. The film follows Harley Quinn, who, after breaking up with the Joker, is threatened by Gotham City crime lord Roman Sionis, and joins forces with Helena Bertinelli, Dinah Lance and Renee Montoya (who go on to form the Birds of Prey) to save Cassandra Cain.
Robbie, who also served as producer, pitched the idea for Birds of Prey to Warner Bros. in 2015. The film was announced in May 2016, with Hodson being hired to write the script that November, followed by Yan signing on to direct in April 2018. The majority of the cast and crew were confirmed by December 2018. Principal photography lasted from January to April 2019 in Downtown Los Angeles, parts of the Los Angeles Arts District, and soundstages at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Additional filming took place in September 2019.
The film had its world premiere in Mexico City on January 25, 2020, and was released in the United States in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, ScreenX and 4DX on February 7, 2020. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $205.3 million worldwide, falling short of its reported break-even point of $250–300 million.
Plot[edit]
Four years after the defeat of the Enchantress,[b] the Joker breaks up with Harley Quinn, throwing her out on the Gotham City streets. She is taken in by Doc, the owner of a Taiwanese restaurant, and recovers from her relationship by cutting her hair, adopting a spotted hyena, and taking up roller derby.
Harley gets drunk at a nightclub owned by ruthless crime lord Roman Sionis, and cripples his driver after he insults her. She meets burlesque singer Dinah Lance, who later rescues an intoxicated Harley from an attempted abduction. Impressed by Dinah's fighting skills, Sionis appoints her as his new driver. The next night, Harley gets drunk again, and overhearing some of her drinking buddies debating over whether she has actually broken up with the Joker, blows up the Ace Chemicals plant to publicly announce their breakup. When everyone finds out she is not under the Joker's protection anymore, Harley starts getting attacked by every criminal that had previously held a grudge against her.
Meanwhile, GCPD Detective Renee Montoya investigates a series of mob killings carried out by a crossbow-wielding vigilante. She tries to recruit Dinah as an informant, but she rejects the offer, as the GCPD wasn't there to prevent her mother's death. Sionis sends Dinah and his sadistic right-hand-man Victor Zsasz to retrieve a diamond embedded with the account numbers to the fortune of the Bertinelli crime family, who were massacred years ago. Young pickpocket Cassandra "Cass" Cain steals the diamond from Zsasz and swallows it after she is arrested.
Harley, fleeing from Montoya and several others, is captured by Sionis' men. Sionis sends Harley to recover the diamond for him, under the threat of death, and also places a bounty on Cassandra. Breaking into the GCPD with a grenade launcher filled with paint and sparkle rounds, Harley frees Cassandra and the pair escape. While hiding out at Harley's apartment, they bond. Doc is approached for information by the "crossbow killer", who is revealed to be Helena Bertinelli. Having survived her family's massacre and becoming trained as an assassin, Helena has been targeting each of the gangsters responsible for her family's murders, preferring the moniker "Huntress". Harley's place is later bombed by criminals looking for Cassandra, and Doc admits that he sold Harley out. Harley calls Sionis and offers to turn her over in exchange for his protection, agreeing to meet at an abandoned amusement park. Dinah notifies Montoya of the rendezvous, but her betrayal is noticed by Zsasz, who informs Sionis. A devastated Sionis dons his ritualistic mask from which he gets his nickname, "Black Mask".
At the park, Montoya confronts Harley, but is kicked out of a window. Zsasz arrives and tranquilizes Harley before holding Dinah at gunpoint, but he is killed by Helena, who reveals he was the last of her family's killers. Montoya returns and reveals that Sionis was the true mastermind behind the Bertinellis's massacre. He had them killed trying to get the diamond. A stand-off ensues until they realize Sionis has arrived with a small army of masked criminals. Using Harley's old gear, the makeshift team of five women withstand and repel the attack. During the battle, Cassandra is captured by Sionis, while Dinah reveals her metahuman ability of supersonic-level screaming, defeating several of the mobsters. Harley gives chase on roller skates, and with assistance from Helena, the pair pursue Sionis. At a nearby pier, Sionis prepares to kill Cassandra, who pulls the ring from a grenade that she took from Harley's weapons chest. Harley throws him off the pier just before the grenade detonates, tearing him apart.
In the aftermath of destroying Sionis' criminal empire, Montoya quits the GCPD. Using the money from the accounts hidden inside the diamond, Helena joins with Dinah and Montoya in establishing a team of vigilantes called the Birds of Prey. Harley and Cassandra escape, selling the diamond itself to a pawn shop and starting their own business.
