Deadpool & Wolverine set the record for the biggest R-rating film opening and eighth-best debut, with $205 million in sales on opening weekend.
The Merc With A Mouth and the Mustelidae-related X-Man took the box offices around the world by storm this weekend. Deadpool & Wolverine blew the R-rated record so hard with its $205 million in its opening weekend. Additionally, the Disney sequel bloodied-up another record, ranking as the eighth-best debut of all time ahead of 2018’s Black Panther ($202 million) and behind 2015’s Jurassic World ($208 million) and 2012’s The Avengers ($207 million).
What’s super crazy is that only nine films in Hollywood history have crossed the $200 million milestone in their opening weekends. Unsurprisingly, ticket sales for Deadpool & Wolverine easily surpassed 2016’s Deadpool ($132 million) to set the record for the biggest R-rated opening weekend of all time. Who can beat Deadpool but Deadpool himself? Deadpool 2 is now the third biggest R-rated debut with $125 million.
As far as sequels go, the Shawn Levy-directed Deadpool & Wolverine knocked the debut stats out of the stratosphere by overtaking Disney’s Pixar sequel Inside Out 2 ($155 million debut). While the dynamic duo that everyone wanted to see team up did better than most members of the X-Force in the second film, this one took in 233.3 million for a staggering $438 million worldwide.
After three days of release, the film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is already the sixth-highest grossing of 2024. Disney spent about $200 million to produce and roughly another $100 million to promote the movie. And boy, oh boy, was the marketing for this film everywhere! The film was projected to gross between $160 million to $170 million but of course, those estimates were gangbanged by fans running to the theatres to get their minds stimulated over the past three days.
The numbers add up, as this third instalment was also the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to feature comic book characters previously licensed to 20th Century Fox. It was also full of plot twists, lots of loin-quivering action, big cameos, a strangely cute-looking dog, a lot of blood, a lot of foul language you probably don’t want your grandmother to hear, fan service and the odd sexually charged jokes. And people wanted to see the almighty return of Jackman, reprising his role as the gruff mutant Logan after supposedly retiring the character.
If this still was not enough records passed to get an information collector sopping wet and bothered, the MCU became the first film franchise ever to cross $30 billion globally. Deadpool & Wolverine really accomplished what it set out to do on our Earth, even though the characters fail to save the world in the film’s plot…just kidding! The most recent releases from the MCU, like Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, seemed like duds in comparison to the numbers this movie was putting up this weekend. However, Disney quickly identified this issue.
In response to the backlash and fans recognizing the superhero fatigue, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger stated the MCU is trying to reduce its output. Due to last year’s strike and other delays, Deadpool & Wolverine is 2024’s lone Marvel Studios movie—the first time this has happened since 2012’s The Avengers. The only other MCU-related content left for the year is Agatha All Along, premiering on Disney+ on September 18.
The last piece of the puzzle for the opening weekend of Deadpool & Wolverine‘s success probably had to do with the internet-breaking news that came out of Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday. As part of the Marvel panel, the studio announced that Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. is returning to play the villainous Victor von Doom in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday. This is supposedly a redirection for the MCU, which scrapes the Kang storylines originally planned due to the allegations of the actor Jonathan Majors portraying Kang.
While Twisters tried to feel it and chase it, they could not beat the planned Celestial-sized blockbuster summer-hit Deadpool & Wolverine. Take that Glen Powell and that smirk on his face! The tornado-filled film held second place with a solid $35.3 million, down 57% from its debut. At the number three spot and for those who were too cowardly to take their kids to see Deadpool & Wolverine, Despicable Me 4 took the number three slot with $14.2 million in its fourth weekend of release. Overall, summer 2024 has been steaming hot at the cinemas. While it may not be a ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, it sure is another great summer for films!
