‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ smashes R-rated record with $205 million debut, 8th biggest opening ever

Marvel is back on top with ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman

Marvel is back on top with “Deadpool & Wolverine”. The comic-book movie made a staggering $205 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It shattered the opening record for R-rated films previously held by the first “Deadpool” ($132 million) and notched a spot in the top 10 openings of all time.

Including international showings, where it’s racked up an addition $233.3 million from 52 markets, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is looking at a global opening of over $438.3 million.

Fittingly for both characters’ introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Deadpool & Wolverine” played less like earlier X-Men or Deadpool movies and more like an Avengers pic. In the top domestic opening weekends ever, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is seated in 8th place between “The Avengers” ($207.4 million) and “Black Panther" ($202 million), bumping “Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($191.3 million) out of the top 10.

It’s by far biggest opening of the year, unseating Disney’s “ Inside Out 2” ($154.2 million) and the most tickets a movie has sold in its debut weekend since “Barbie” ($162 million) stormed theaters last July. Playing in 4,210 locations, “Deadpool & Wolverine” also surpassed 2019’s “The Lion King” ($191.8 million) to become the biggest July opening ever, and is the 34th consecutive MCU movie to debut in first place. And these are numbers previously thought impossible for an R-rated film.

“It’s great news full stop,” said Tony Chambers, who leads theatrical distribution for Disney. “Not only is it great for Disney, not only is it great for Marvel, but it’s great for the industry as a whole. We’ve said it before but success begets success.”

That the numbers came alongside an R-rating, Chambers added, was “nothing short of phenomenal.”

The Walt Disney Studios release arrived at a pivotal time for an industry grappling with box office returns that continue to run at a double-digit deficit from last year. Disney has played a vital role in the summer season, releasing the top movies in May (“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”), June (“Inside Out 2″) and now July.