Deadpool & Wolverine debuts with US$205 million in North America, 8th biggest opening ever

Marvel is back on top with Deadpool & Wolverine. The comic-book movie made a staggering US$205 million (S$275 million) in its first weekend in North American theatres, according to studio estimates on Sunday (Jul 28). It shattered the opening record for R-rated films previously held by the first Deadpool (US$132 million) and notched a spot in the top 10 openings of all time.
Including international showings, where it’s racked up an addition US$233.3 million, Deadpool & Wolverine is looking at a global opening of over US$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 and Black Panther, bumping Avengers: Age Of Ultron (US$191.3 million) out of the top 10.
It’s by far biggest opening of the year, unseating Disney’s Inside Out 2 (US$154.2 million) and the most tickets a movie has sold in its debut weekend since Barbie (US$162 million) stormed theatres last July. And these are numbers previously thought impossible for an R-rated film.
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. 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 US$47 million last November.
Marvel’s savior came in the form of two characters who got their start outside of the MCU, and carried a Motion Picture Association rating that seemed to have an earnings cap.
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, the stars were as crucial as their characters.
Going into the weekend, US$200 million domestic seemed like a pipe dream. Analysts were more conservative with predictions in the US$160 million range. But from the start of the 3pm Thursday preview screenings it was clear that Deadpool & Wolverine was more powerful. By the end of Friday, it had already made US$96 million and received a coveted A CinemaScore from audiences. Critics, too, have been mostly positive.
Second place went to Universal’s Twisters, now in its second weekend with US$35.3 million. The standalone sequel to Twister has now earned US$154.9 million in North America. Universal also claimed third place with Despicable Me 4, which added US$14.2 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to nearly US$291 million.