'Deadpool & Wolverine' Shatters Domestic Box Office Debut Records

The Big Picture

Deadpool & Wolverine sets records with a $205 million domestic debut, surpassing all previous R-rated film openings.
The movie is on track to break $1 billion globally, exceeding the earnings of both Deadpooland Deadpool 2.
Despite competition, other films like Twisters and Despicable Me 4 also performed well at the box office.

Buoyed by incredible pre-release buzz and a resounding panel at the ongoing San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine is not only breaking records at the box office but is also setting benchmarks so high that they’ll probably remain untouched for quite some time. The superhero sequel was initially expected to deliver a domestic debut of around $170 million but is now estimated to generate $205 million in its first three days of release domestically. This is not only the best opening weekend haul for an R-rated film, significantly ahead of the first Deadpool’s $132 million debut eight years ago, but is also among the top 10 opening weekend hauls of all time.

For context, the cultural phenomenon Black Panther grossed $202 million in its first weekend. Deadpool & Wolverine has already earned more domestically in its first three days than what The Marvels made in its entire worldwide run. The movie has also out-performed the opening weekend hauls of blockbuster Marvel hits such as Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191 million), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187 million), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($181 million), Captain America: Civil War ($179 million), and Iron Man 3 ($174 million).

Globally, Deadpool & Wolverine is breaking the $400 million benchmark in its opening weekend, and is all but guaranteed at this point to become the series’ first film to pass the coveted $1 billion milestone. By comparison, the first Deadpool movie concluded its global run with a little over $780 million, while Deadpool 2 made a little over $785 million worldwide. The film has received solid reviews — it holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes — but it’s the audience response that’s more amazing. On RT, Deadpool & Wolverinehas a 97% audience score. The movie features the long-awaited reunion of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s titular characters, and is directed by Shawn Levy.

Slipping to number two after an excellent opening weekend haul, Universal’s Twisters made an estimated $35 million, taking its running total to over $150 million. Starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, Twisters took a hit, as expected, because of Deadpool & Wolverine, but wasn’t entirely wiped out. It dropped by around 55% this weekend, and will eventually generate more than $200 million domestically — a major win for everybody involved. The third spot was claimed by another Universal hit, Despicable Me 4. The animated sequel added around $14 million in its fourth weekend, taking its running domestic total past the $290 million mark.

Pixar’s record-breaking blockbuster Inside Out 2 took the fourth spot, with an estimated $9 million in its seventh weekend. With $613 million domestically, Inside Out 2 is now the top-grossing animated movie of all time domestically, ahead of Incredibles 2, which grossed $608 million in its lifetime run. The film recently achieved this feat globally as well, having overtaken Frozen II’s lifetime haul of $1.45 billion. The top five was rounded out by Neon’s breakout hit, Longlegs. The horror-thriller generated around $7 million in its third weekend, taking its running domestic total to nearly $60 million.

Source: Collider