Deadpool and Wolverine shatter R-rated movie box office record

With $205 million earned in 3 days, the blockbuster also allows Marvel to beat an absolute record as a saga. (Source: Le Film Français)

Marvel's comeback was eagerly awaited. Five years after the full success ofAvengers Endgame at the box office (2.7 billion dollars in revenue as a reminder), and three years after that of Spider-Man: No Way Home (1.9 billion shared with Sony) no other production of the studio has managed to break a new record since the Covid epidemic: The Eternals, The Marvels Or Ant-Man 3 have had a string of downright disappointing scores.

Available on 4,210 screens across the United States, Deadpool & Wolverine met public expectations, amassing $205 million in its first weekend in the United States, making it the eighth-best opening of all time among those of Black Panther (202 million in 2018) and Avengers ($207 million in 2012). Note that only nine Hollywood productions have opened above $200 million in their first weekend.

This score is well above those of Deadpool 1 And 2 (134 and 135 million in 2016 and 2018) or films dedicated to Wolverine (85 million for that of 2009, 53 million for The Fight of the Immortal in 2013, 88 for Logan in 2017). It is also a record for an R-Rated film (not recommended for under 17s unaccompanied by an adult: until now, the two winners were precisely Dead Pool and its direct sequel, well below 200 million, therefore.

The estimates of 160 to 170 million at the start are therefore exploded by Deadpool & Wolverine ! On Friday alone, the blockbuster was already approaching the $100 mark, taking in $96 million. In the rest of the world, Deadpool & Wolverine is already close to half a billion in revenue: 438 million have been earned by Disney so far. The big budget of 200 million (to which we can add more than 100 million in promotion) is therefore already being reimbursed.

With this film, the MCU becomes the first franchise to reach $30 billion at the global box office, a major record for Disney-Marvel. Especially after a catastrophic year for the studio: in 2023, the only film from the company with a huge budget to become profitable was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ! FromIndiana Jones 5 has Wish Passing by The little Mermaid And Quantumaniaall the others made less revenue than expected. A finding that extended to the other studios, Universal for example having bet astronomical sums on Fast and Furious X or Warner Bros. on Aquaman 2which did not find as much of an audience as their predecessors.

Variety note that D&W is the only Marvel to hit theaters this year, something that hasn't happened since Avengers in 2012. An exceptional situation for the studio, which has released between two and four blockbusters per year since this gigantic global hit. The American site also recalls that the recent “flops” Disney's releases, whether superhero or animated, are also tied to the studio's release strategy, which has often favored its streaming platform over cinema, inviting audiences to travel less to discover their entertainment.

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Faced with this formidable opponent, the competing Hollywood studios have not released anything this weekend. The only two other new releases in the top are independent productions: The Fabulous Four, a comedy with Susan Sarandon, starts 8th with a total of 1 million earned in 1314 theaters, and the Bollywood production Raayan rounds out the top 10, with $379,000 earned from 120 screens.

Twisters is still holding up well, with $35.3 million collected in 4,170 theaters, or already $154 million collected in ten days. Universal's entertainment is followed by another film from the same studio, Despicable Me 4 and its additional 14.2 million earned on 3,610 copies. In one month, the animated film is approaching 300 million in revenue in the United States alone. Then the top 5 is completed by Inside Out 2another film from Disney (Pixar) studios that breaks record after record, and the horror production Longlegs. With $58 million in three weeks, this creepy film starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage has become Neon's biggest success, doubling its $53 million Parasiteby Bong Joon-ho (2019).

Here is the American ranking for the weekend of July 26-28, 2024:

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