Marvel is back on top with “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The comic book movie grossed an astounding $205 million in its opening weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The film broke the record set by the original “Deadpool” ($132 million) for the highest opening gross for an R-rated movie and landed in the top 10 openings of all time.
Including international releases, which will earn an additional $233.3 million from 52 markets, Deadpool & Wolverine is expected to have a global opening gross of more than $438.3 million.
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Fittingly, with both characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Deadpool & Wolverine” plays out more like an Avengers movie than an early X-Men or Deadpool movie. In terms of domestic opening weekend grosses, “Deadpool & Wolverine” placed eighth between “The Avengers” ($207.4 million) and “Black Panther” ($202 million), knocking “Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($191.3 million) out of the top 10.
It surpassed Disney’s Inside Out 2 ($154.2 million) for the biggest opening of the year and the highest opening weekend ticket sales since last July’s theatrical hit Barbie ($162 million). Screened in 4,210 locations, Deadpool & Wolverine surpassed 2019’s The Lion King ($191.8 million) for the highest July opening ever and became the 34th consecutive MCU film to debut at No. 1.
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The top-grossing domestic release of all time is held by “Avengers: Endgame” with $357.1 million, 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).
Coming in second was Universal’s “Twisters,” which earned $35.3 million in its second weekend. The standalone sequel to “Twister” has made $154.9 million in North America. Universal also had “Despicable Me” take third place, adding $14.2 million in its fourth weekend for a domestic total of nearly $291 million.
“Inside Out 2” came in fourth with $8.3 million. Disney and Pixar releases this week have made $613.4 million domestically (beating “Incredibles 2”) and $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the biggest animated opening of all time. It also passed “Top Gun: Maverick” to become the 12th highest-grossing worldwide opening of all time.