鈥� 鈥� has gotten off to a supercharged start at the box office, breaking the Thursday preview record for an R-rated movie. The comic-book film sold an estimated $38.5 million worth of movie tickets from preview screenings Thursday, Disney said Friday.
The previous R-rated record-holder was 鈥淒eadpool 2,鈥� released by Fox鈥檚 20th Century Studios in May of 2018. That made $18.6 million from Thursday previews and went on to make $125.5 million in its first weekend.
In fact, the previews played more like 鈥淪tar Wars: The Rise of the Skywalker鈥� ($40 million) and 鈥淎vengers: Infinity War鈥� ($39 million) than the previous two 鈥淒eadpool鈥� movies.
The arrival of 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine鈥� has been long awaited by both audiences and theater owners. The box office as a whole continues to trail last year (down 17%), partially due to ripple effects of the actors strike affecting release schedule and a lack of major hits. Compared to the pre-pandemic 2019, 2024 is down over 34%.
鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine鈥� is also the first Marvel movie of the summer season 鈥� that often accounts for some 40% of the annual box office total. Unlike many summers over the past decade, this year did not kick off with a blockbuster Marvel film; The business has been struggling to regain that footing since.
Also at play is the idea of 鈥渟uperhero fatigue鈥� at the box office, in which there have been more disappointments than runaway hits lately. But 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine鈥� seems to be immune from that crisis.
With and genuine fan enthusiasm, it is cruising to break more records over the weekend, where it鈥檚 playing on over 4,200 screens in the United States and Canada. Analysts expect it to earn at least $160 million through Sunday, which would make it the biggest R-rated opener of all time, unseating the first 鈥淒eadpool,鈥� and the biggest debut of 2024.
To crack the top 10 openings of all time, however, 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine鈥� would have to vastly overperform and make at least $191.3, or enough to bump 鈥淎vengers: Age of Ultron鈥� into 11th place.
It's also playing in 48 markets internationally where it's earned $64.8 million in its first two days.'
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
