Box Office: 'Suicide Squad' rockets to $20.5M Thursday night

Warner Bros.' Suicide Squad came out swinging Thursday night in North America, earning an August-best $20.5 million in previews.

The David Ayer-helmed super-villain film is tracking to open in the $130 million-$140 million range in North America, which means it will likely grab the top August domestic opening of all time, ahead of Marvel and Disney's likewise offbeat superhero film, Guardians of the Galaxy, which debuted to a surprise $94.3 million in 2014 after earning $11.2 million Thursday night (Guardians held the previous Thursday record.)

The big question is whether the latest film in Warner Bros.' growing DC Extended Universe can beat another irreverent superhero offering: Fox and Marvel's Deadpool, which collected $12.7 million in Thursday previews this past February on its way to a stunning $134.2 million domestic launch.

See photos from the "Suicide Squad" premiere:

Suicide Squad, sporting a friendlier PG-13 rating, has been skewered by critics, however. But so was fellow DCEU title Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and that movie debuted to debuted to $166.1 million domestically in late March after collecting $27.7 million Thursday night.

In terms of other superhero films this year, Captain America: Civil War pulled in $25 million on Thursday night, while X-Men: Apocalypse earned $8.2 million in previews on its way to a subdued $65.8 million domestic debut.

Suicide Squad is also off to an impressive start overseas, where it earned $8.1 million from its first seven markets on Wednesday.

Suicide Squad follows a group of dangerous comic book villains -- played by Will Smith (Deadshot), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn) Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Jay Hernandez (El Diablo) and Cara Delevigne (Enchantress) -- who are recruited to fight off a deadly threat. Jared Leto stars as The Joker while Joel Kinnaman and Viola Davis round out the cast.

Read more: 'Suicide Squad's' Secret Drama: Rushed Production, Competing Cuts, High Anxiety

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