NEW YORK (AP) — After 10 days in theaters, “Deadpool & Wolverine†is already the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, not accounting for inflation.
In its second weekend, the Marvel Studios blockbuster starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman continued to steamroll through movie theaters, collecting $97 million according to studio estimates Sunday. That raised its two-week total to $395.6 million, pushing it past the long-reigning top R-rated feature, “The Passion of the Christ,†which held that mark for 20 years with $370 million domestic.
Worldwide, the has quickly amassed $824.1 million in ticket sales, a total that already surpasses the global hauls of the first two “Deadpool†films. The 2016 original grossed $782.6 million worldwide; the 2018 sequel collected $734.5 million.
The weekend’s primary challengers both struggled.
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, managed a modest opening of $15.6 million at 3,181 theaters for Warner Bros. The film, starring Josh Hartnett as a serial killer hunted by police at a pop concert, didn’t screen for critics before opening day and scored lower in reviews (48% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) than Shyamalan’s films typically do. Audiences gave it a C+ CinemaScore.
With a budget of about $35 million that Shyamalan largely finances himself, “Trap†didn’t need a huge opening. But it may struggle to break even.
“This is a soft opening for an M. Night Shyamalan suspense crime thriller,†wrote David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment. “The writer/director’s movies out-earn other original thrillers by a wide margin, and that’s true here, but this start is not on the level of recent Shyamalan films.â€
The live-action adapted from the classic kids book, also didn’t make much of a mark in theaters. Th,e Sony Pictures release debuted with $6 million. It, too, got dinged by critics (28% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), though audiences (an A- CinemaScore) liked it more. “Harold and the Purple Crayon," which stars Zachary Levi, cost about $40 million to make.
the Universal Pictures disaster film, continues to kick up a storm at the box office. It held in second place with $22.7 million in its third weekend. Lee Isaac Chung's sequel to the 1996 original, starring Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos, has racked up $195.6 million domestically. While it has made less of an impression overseas, “Twisters†is holding particularly well in North American theaters, down just 35% from the week prior.
Hollywood closed July with its best month in a year and its first $1 billion month since July 2023. While comparisons to last year aren't favorable — July was when — a pair of Walt Disney Co. releases in “Inside Out 2†and “Deadpool & Wolverine†(the two top films of the year) powered a banner month for the movie industry.
There will still reminders, though, of harder times in cinemas , when a sparse release calendar and a few notable flops put the box office at a deficit. On Friday, AMC Theatres, the largest North American chain, posted a $32.8 million loss for the second quarter of 2024.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Deadpool & Wolverine," $97 million.
2. “Twisters,†$22.7 million.
3. “T°ù²¹±è,†$15.6 million.
4. “Despicable Me 2,†$11.3 million.
5. “Inside Out 2,†$6.7 million.
6. “Harold and the Purple Crayon,†$6 million.
7. “Longlegs,†$4.1 million.
8. “A Quiet Place: Day One,†$1.4 million.
9. “Daaru Na Peenda Hove,†$615,782.
10. “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,†$600,000.
