Deadpool & Wolverine set for record-breaking box office debut

The first weekend of operation of this third part could bring in up to 165 million for Disney.

We knew that Marvel was counting on Deadpool & Wolverine to revive the superhero mania, which has been somewhat tired lately. But, it must be said, the first estimates exceed the wildest hopes and seem to predict that the film will break a handful of records in the process.

Yet the odds were against them. First, the famous superhero fatigue has been making the bigwigs at Disney tremble for several months and the (rather catastrophic) releases of Quantumania (tainted by a legal scandal), and The Marvels. And then there was the SAG-AFTRA strike, which delayed the project and threatened its summer release, which ultimately didn't change.

But, before all that, there are above all the five little letters which generally seal the fate of a film: R-Rated. Classification which requires children under 17 to be accompanied by an adult. Deadpool & Wolverine is the third part of a saga stamped Fox (just like the X-mens), which allowed freedoms of language that Marvel's (and, by extension, Disney's) puritanism forbade.

Yet, Bob Igerthe big boss of the big-eared brand, had announced that the Fox buyout would not endanger the irreverence of the anti-hero. A risk not so risky when you look at the history of the franchise. Ryan Reynoldswho has carried the franchise since its creation, had even been surprised by the liberties allowed by Disney.

In 2016, the first installment created a surprise by generating $133.7 million in the United States during its first weekend. It still holds the record for the best opening for an R-rated film. Two years later, Deadpool 2 did slightly less well with 125.5 million. In total, the two films grossed 782 million and 785 million respectively at the global box office.

Deadpool & Wolverine is the first film in this classification to be released by Marvel/Disney, and, against all expectations, estimates have it beating its predecessors hands down: the film is thus expected to rake in between 160 and 165 million dollars during its first weekend of operation in the United States according to The Hollywood ReporterThe film would thus rise to the top of the ranking of the best starts of the year, ahead of the 85.5 million Dune, Part Two and the 154 million Inside Out 2and would break the record for the biggest opening for an R-rated film.

Marketing is certainly a big part of this: Ryan Reynolds And Hugh Jackmancurrently on a promotional tour, have bombarded their audiences with videos and other publicity stunts of all kinds.

But it seems that it is above all the return of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine that motivates the fans. It must be said that we have not seen him since 2017 and the release of Logan, “the best comic book adaptation ever made” according to Ryan Reynolds, and which had brought in nearly 620 million dollars in total, a record in the saga of X-Mensurpassed only by Days of Future Past in 2014. What is certain is that Wolverine remains one of Marvel's most popular heroes.

In Deadpool 3he joins Wade Wilson on a quest through the labyrinthine twists and turns of the multiverse.

Enough to rekindle the flame of superhero films and reassure the studio, in the middle of phase 5 of the MCU. The public will be able to discover it in theaters on July 24 in France, and July 26 in the United States.

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