After a slow start to the summer for theaters, Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” continued its box office rebound this weekend, breaking the record for the biggest opening for an R-rated film domestically.
According to Comscore estimates, the film grossed $205 million at the box office in its opening weekend in the United States. According to Variety, it cost $200 million to produce.
“It’s a spectacular opening,” wrote David Gross in the film industry newsletter FranchiseRe, estimating that “Deadpool & Wolverine” could be the fourth-biggest superhero opening of all time after the final weekend numbers are released. He also noted that reviews from audiences and critics were good.
“The popularity of these characters is growing, not diminishing,” Gross wrote. “The numbers are fantastic.”
The film follows Deadpool asking Wolverine for help in saving Deadpool's friends and his universe.
The last “Deadpool” film, featuring the big-mouthed protagonist played by Ryan Reynolds, was released in 2018. “Deadpool & Wolverine” reunites the character with his Marvel counterpart, X-Men icon Hugh Jackman, and is the first film to incorporate the popular mutants since Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019.
“The two have been paired for 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' a crossover event that's also a Viking funeral of sorts and a salute to the Marvel era of 20th Century Fox,” wrote Tribune News Service film critic Katie Walsh.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” also broke other box office records, with the highest July opening weekend of all time and the highest opening weekend of 2024, according to Comscore.
According to Comscore estimates, behind “Deadpool & Wolverine” at the domestic box office this weekend were the action film “Twisters,” which grossed $35.3 million, and the animated film “Despicable Me 4,” with $14.2 million.
The success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” comes at a time when several industry observers have expressed concern about superhero fatigue after a string of films, including “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels,” failed to produce the desired box office results.
Gross wrote in his newsletter that fewer superhero movies are being released, with just five this year. That's compared to 2018 and 2019, when seven superhero movies were released each year.
“Over the next few years, we’ll see if Marvel and DC Comics can launch several new stories that are interesting enough to become series,” Gross wrote. “That’s what it will take to make the genre relevant again.”
Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.
