With a US$97M second weekend, 'Deadpool & Wolverine' sets a new high mark for R-rated films
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After 10 days in theatres, 'Deadpool & Wolverine' is already the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, not accounting for inflation.
After 10 days in theatres, “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 theatres, collecting US$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 Shawn Levy-directed “Deadpool & Wolverine" 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, “Trap,” managed a modest opening of $15.6 million at 3,181 theatres 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 per cent 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.
When Terry Bush co-wrote and sang Maybe Tomorrow, the theme song for The Littlest Hobo, he thought it was just another gig—a catchy tune for a TV show about a wandering German Shepherd. Forty-five years later, that 'little tune' still tugs at heartstrings, pops up on playlists, and has even been known to be played at closing time in English pubs.