Movie Reviews

Deadpool & Wolverine Box Office Set To Break Huge R-Rated Record Previously Held By 2004 Mel Gibson Movie

Ita PreciousAugust 3, 2024
239 3 minutes read
ryan reynolds as an unmasked deadpool rolling his eyes in front of money

Summary

  • Deadpool & Wolverine
    is projected to earn $94 million at the domestic box office during its second weekend at the domestic box office.
  • This will make it the highest-grossing R-rated movie in North America.
  • The previous record-holder was Mel Gibson’s
    The Passion of the Christ
    .



Deadpool & Wolverine has shattered an R-rated domestic box office record. The new movie is the first time that either titular superhero has appeared in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie as well as the first time that any installment in the franchise has been rated R. In spite of this, the Deadpool & Wolverine box office kicked off with a record-breaking opening weekend of $211.4 million, which was the best R-rated debut of all time in addition to the fourth-best debut for the MCU ever, behind Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Avengers: Endgame.

Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Deadpool & Wolverine is projected to claim the No. 1 spot on the domestic box office Top 5 yet again in its second weekend with a 3-day total of $94 million. Combined with its opening week, this will bring its cumulative domestic haul to a record-smashing total of $392.5 million that outgrosses the previous highest-grossing R-rated movie in North America, which was Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. The original Deadpool previously came closest to beating that movie’s $370.7 million gross by earning $363 million in domestic theaters.



How Deadpool & Wolverine Compares To North America’s Other Biggest R-Rated Hits

The MCU Movie Is Breaking The Scale

The Deadpool & Wolverine release breaking this record in week 2 is a substantial accomplishment, and it is only getting started. In fact, early projections show that it could earn as much as half a billion dollars at the domestic box office alone by the end of its run. However, even just ten days after its debut, it has taken a huge lead over many of the highest-grossing domestic R-rated movies. Below, see how it compares to the North American R-rated Top 10:


Rank

Title

Domestic Gross

#1

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

~$392.5 million

#2

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

$370.7 million

#3

Deadpool (2016)

$363 million

#4

American Sniper (2014)

$350.1 million

#5

Joker (2019)

$335.4 million

#6

Oppenheimer (2023)

$329.9 million

#7

It (2017)

$328.8 million

#8

Deadpool 2 (2018)

$324.6 million

#9

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

$281.6 million

#10

The Hangover (2009)

$277.3 million


By the end of the weekend, the new movie will already be more than $100 million above the No. 10 title on the chart, the smash hit comedy The Hangover, which itself spawned a three-film franchise. If it made half a billion, it would not be entirely far off from outgrossing that movie and the No. 9 title, The Matrix Reloaded, put together. On top of that, the gap between it and The Passion of the Christ is already $20 million and could eventually extend by an additional $100 million and beyond.

There is a chance that Deadpool & Wolverine could be seeing some competition before too long, as Joker: Folie à Deux is due on October 4. As the sequel to another billion-dollar R-rated superhero movie, it could very well also be a record-breaker. However, it has less of a legacy behind it than the three Deadpool movies and the nine X-Men movies featuring Wolverine, so it may ultimately pale in comparison.


Source: Deadline

Ita PreciousAugust 3, 2024
239 3 minutes read
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