Deadpool & Wolverine Box Office Has Record-Setting Opening Weekend, Best Since Spider-Man: No Way Home

Summary Deadpool & Wolverine is breaking box office records as the biggest R-rated movie opening of all time.

Led by Reynolds, Jackman, and Corrin, the film incorporates references to the Fox X-Men movies while entering a new universe.

Deadpool & Wolverine is expected to earn $180-190 million over the weekend domestically.

Deadpool & Wolverine is already enjoying what may be the biggest box office opening for an R-rated movie. The latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe marks the third Deadpool movie and the fourth Wolverine movie, while also introducing both characters to the MCU. Led by Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and Emma Corrin, the movie is filled with references to the 20th Century Fox X-Men movies, while also serving as a means of bringing both major characters into a new universe. Given its impressive box office results, it is likely to lead to a potential Deadpool 4.

According to a report by Deadline, Deadpool remains one of Marvel's most financially stable franchises. Despite its R-rating, Deadpool & Wolverine reportedly earned between $96 million on its opening day from the domestic take alone. It also saw approximately $205 million over the rest of the weekend. That marks the biggest R-rated opening of all time and serves as a return to form for the MCU. It also represents the eighth-best box office opening of all time. Globally, it performed even better with an overall take of $438 million, thanks to its $233.3 million international take.

Nothing Stood Up To Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool Earned More Than The Rest Of The Box Office Combined

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Besides Deadpool 3's instant success, there was not much movement in the other slots of the box office top 5 this weekend. With all the attention on the latest MCU movie, everything else largely moved down one spot and otherwise stayed in the same order. The only major change is that A Quiet Place: Day One was pushed out of the top chart in its fifth weekend, which can be directly attributed to Deadpool. Besides Day One dropping out, the standings remained surprisingly steady. Check out the projected domestic top 5, featuring up-to-date numbers up through Saturday afternoon:

# Title 3-Day Total Cumulative (Domestic) 1 Deadpool & Wolverine $205 million $205 million (weekend 1) 2 Twisters $36 million $155.6 million (weekend 2) 3 Despicable Me 4 $14.5 million $291.2 million (weekend 4) 4 Inside Out 2 $8.7 million $613.7 million (weekend 7) 5 Longlegs $6.9 million $58.7 million (weekend 3)

While everything fell by one slot, there were still some major changes. Twisters faced a 56% second weekend drop, while the rest of the top 5 fell between 30-45%. Twisters is expected to blow past the $150 million milestone, which is an impressive step for a relatively standalone sequel. Longlegs and the two animated box office hits of the summer are still proving their legs, as each scored over $5 million. Despicable Me 4 has taken an impressive $14.5 million. The family-focused animated movies had the lowest drops of the weekend, likely helped by Deadpool & Wolverine's R-rating.

Related Deadpool & Wolverine's Budget & Box Office Explained: How Much It Needs To Make Deadpool & Wolverine didn't come cheap, so the latest MCU movie needs to make a significant impact at the box office to be considered successful.

Next week is not expected to bring many significant changes to the box office rankings either. The next major release, Alien: Romulus, is set for August 16, leaving another two weeks for these top 5 to dominate. Even Inside Out 2, which has been in theaters for seven weekends, should stay until it reaches its 100-day mark. The rest of the offerings are still fairly early in their run, leaving ample opportunities for them to enjoy the next few weeks of limited competition. As Deadpool & Wolverine dominates, the rest of the box office is still enjoying their continued success.

Deadpool & Wolverine Is A Record-Breaking Showing For The MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Is Back

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Deadpool 3's success is a return to form for the MCU, which has been struggling in recent years to retain its momentum. While it has seen some successes after Avengers: Endgame, including the blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home, there have been some weighty failures. The Marvels failed to earn its $270 million budget back after earning just $206 million and sparked fears that Marvel Studios' domination could be at an end. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was another critical and financial disappointment, though 2023's swan song Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 became a steady success.

Related Every Cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine Explained Deadpool & Wolverine is packed to the brim with cameos from across the entire run of Marvel films, combining the numerous timelines together.

Thankfully for Marvel Studios, Deadpool & Wolverine helped to push past a major milestone, as Kevin Feige announced that the studio has now earned over $30 billion at the box office. The movie has broken several other records as well, as it has become the biggest R-rated opener ever, the eighth-biggest opener overall, and the biggest opening for any of Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, or director Shawn Levy. It is also Marvel's biggest freshman weekend since Spider-Man: No Way Home and the biggest global debut since Avatar: The Way of Water, which earned $435 million globally and $134 million domestically.

There are even more broken records for Marvel to celebrate. Deadpool 3 has enjoyed the third-biggest opening for a threequel, sitting behind only Avengers: Infinity War and No Way Home, and it has even earned the title of 12th biggest global debut in box office history. With its shocking success, Marvel evidently made the right decision when choosing to revive the 20th Century Fox franchise. It should see continued success in a summer without many major upcoming releases. Deadpool and Wolverine's success could be a sign of resurgence for Marvel, and the nostalgic comedy should have long legs.

Source: Deadline