‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ smashes R-rated record with $205 million debut, 8th biggest opening ever

AP Film Writer

Marvel is back on top with “ Deadpool & Wolverine.” The comic-book movie made a staggering $205 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It shattered the opening record for R-rated films previously held by the first “Deadpool” ($132 million) and notched a spot in the top 10 openings of all time.

Including international showings, where it’s racked up an addition $233.3 million from 52 markets, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is looking at a global opening of over $438.3 million.

Fittingly for both characters’ introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Deadpool & Wolverine” played less like earlier X-Men or Deadpool movies and more like an Avengers pic. In the top domestic opening weekends ever, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is seated in 8th place between “The Avengers” ($207.4 million) and “Black Panther” ($202 million), bumping “Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($191.3 million) out of the top 10.

It’s by far biggest opening of the year, unseating Disney’s “ Inside Out 2 ” ($154.2 million) and the most tickets a movie has sold in its debut weekend since “Barbie” ($162 million) stormed theaters last July. Playing in 4,210 locations, “Deadpool & Wolverine” also surpassed 2019’s “The Lion King” ($191.8 million) to become the biggest July opening ever, and is the 34th consecutive MCU movie to debut in first place. And these are numbers previously thought impossible for an R-rated film.

“It’s great news full stop,” said Tony Chambers, who leads theatrical distribution for Disney. “Not only is it great for Disney, not only is it great for Marvel, but it’s great for the industry as a whole. We’ve said it before but success begets success.”

That the numbers came alongside an R-rating, Chambers added, was “nothing short of phenomenal.”

The Walt Disney Studios release arrived at a pivotal time for an industry grappling with box office returns that continue to run at a double-digit deficit from last year. Disney has played a vital role in the summer season, releasing the top movies in May (“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”), June (“Inside Out 2″) and now July.

The success is also an important moment for Marvel Studios, which has had several high-profile disappointments lately; Most notably in “ The Marvels ” which opened to an MCU low of $47 million last November.

Superheroes have been struggling even more elsewhere: Sony, which reached a high point with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.9 billion worldwide) had a new low with “Madame Web,” which barely crossed $100 million. Warner Bros. Discovery, after a string of disappointments with “The Flash” and “Blue Beetle,” is currently working on restarting their DC universe under the supervision of James Gunn.

Marvel’s savior came in the form of two characters who got their start outside of the MCU. Both Deadpool and Wolverine, played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, existed previously under the 21st Century Fox banner which for two decades had the rights to Marvel characters like the “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four.” That changed when Disney acquired the studio’s film and TV assets in early 2019 and plans started to take shape of how all these characters would fit into Kevin Feige’s MCU. In some cases, as with “Fantastic Four,” Marvel Studios is starting fresh. With “Deadpool & Wolverine,” directed by Shawn Levy, the stars were as crucial as their characters.

This weekend at the Comic-Con fan convention, Marvel also teased more to come, including Robert Downey Jr.’s return — not as Iron Man but as Doctor Doom.

Going into the weekend, $200 million domestic seemed like a pipe dream. Analysts were more conservative with predictions in the $160 million range. But from the start of the 3 p.m. Thursday preview screenings it was clear that “Deadpool & Wolverine” was more powerful. By the end of Friday, it had already made $96 million and recieved a coveted A CinemaScore from audiences. Critics, too, have been mostly positive. Premium screens, including IMAX and other large formats, accounted for 18% of the total box office.

“Historically, PG-13 is the rating that will get you the biggest bang for your buck,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore.

“The old rule that R-rated movies have a box office ceiling was literally shattered this weekend. The edgier content actually enhances their appeal to older teens and young 20-somethings.”

The top domestic opening of all time still firmly belongs to “Avengers: Endgame” with $357.1 million. It’s followed by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($260.1 million), “Avengers: Infinity War” ($257.6 million), “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($247.9 million) and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” ($220 million).

Second place went to Universal’s “Twisters,” now in its second weekend with $35.3 million. The standalone sequel to “Twister” has now earned $154.9 million in North America. Universal also claimed third place with “Despicable Me 4,” which added $14.2 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to nearly $291 million.

“Inside Out 2” landed in fourth place with $8.3 million. The Disney and Pixar release this week became the biggest animated release ever with $613.4 million domestically (surpassing “Incredibles 2”) and $1.5 billion globally. It also passed “Top Gun: Maverick” to become the 12th highest-earning global release of all time.

It all adds up to one of the top 10 domestic grossing weekends of all time, with $277.5 million, according to Comscore. That puts it ahead of this weekend last year, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” helped propel the box office to over $216.9 million in their second weekends.

“This is one for the history books,” Dergarabedian said. ”Hopefully this will carry over into August.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” $205 million.

2. “Twisters,” $35.3 million.

3. “Despicable Me 4,” $14.2 million.

4. “Inside Out 2,” $8.3 million.

5. “Longlegs,” $6.8 million.

6. “A Quiet Place: Day One,” $3 million.

7. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $1.3 million.

8. “The Fabulous Four,” $1 million.

9. “Fly Me to the Moon,” $750,000.

10. “Raayan,” $378,571.