‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Shatters R-Rated Box Office Record in 10 Days

After merely 10 days in theaters, “Deadpool & Wolverine” has already cemented its position as the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, unadjusted for inflation. In its second weekend, the Marvel Studios juggernaut, featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, amassed an impressive $97 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. This brings its two-week total to a staggering $395.6 million, surpassing the two-decade reign of “The Passion of the Christ,” which earned $370 million domestically.

Globally, the Shawn Levy-directed “Deadpool & Wolverine” has skyrocketed to $824.1 million in ticket sales. This figure eclipses the worldwide grosses of the first two “Deadpool” films — the 2016 original at $782.6 million and the 2018 sequel at $734.5 million.

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Meanwhile, other movies struggled to keep up. M. Night Shyamalan’s new thriller “Trap” opened to a modest $15.6 million at 3,181 theaters for Warner Bros. The film stars Josh Hartnett as a serial killer pursued by police at a pop concert. It didn’t win over critics before its opening day, scoring just 48% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. It also received a lukewarm C+ CinemaScore from audiences.

With a budget of around $35 million, mostly financed by Shyamalan himself, “Trap” didn’t require a massive opening, but even so, achieving profitability could be challenging. David A. Gross, a film consultant and publisher of a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment, remarked, “This is a soft opening for an M. Night Shyamalan suspense crime thriller. The writer/director’s movies generally outperform other original thrillers by a wide margin, but this start is not up to the level of recent Shyamalan films.”

The live-action adaptation of the classic children’s book, “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” also failed to make a significant impact. The Sony Pictures release debuted with $6 million and received a poor 28% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, though it fared better with audiences, earning an A- CinemaScore. Starring Zachary Levi, the film had a production cost of about $40 million.

However, “Twisters,” the Universal Pictures disaster sequel, maintained a strong presence at the box office, holding second place with $22.7 million in its third weekend. Lee Isaac Chung’s follow-up to the 1996 original has garnered $195.6 million domestically. Despite making less headway overseas, “Twisters” is showing robust performance in North American theaters, with only a 35% decline from the previous week.

Hollywood ended July on a high note with its best month in a year and the first $1 billion month since July 2023. Although comparisons to the previous year — when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were released — are less flattering, Walt Disney Co.’s “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” the two top films of the year, delivered a stellar month for the film industry. However, there were still reminders of tougher times earlier in the spring and early summer, marked by a sparse release schedule and significant box office flops. AMC Theatres, the largest chain in North America, reported a $32.8 million loss for the second quarter of 2024 on Friday.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, are as follows:

“Deadpool & Wolverine,” $97 million.

“Twisters,” $22.7 million.

“Trap,” $15.6 million.

“Despicable Me 2,” $11.3 million.

“Inside Out 2,” $6.7 million.

“Harold and the Purple Crayon,” $6 million.

“Longlegs,” $4.1 million.

“A Quiet Place: Day One,” $1.4 million.

“Daaru Na Peenda Hove,” $615,782.

“Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $600,000.