In the Ryan Reynolds-Blake Lively box-office showdown, both husband and wife emerged as winners.
Reynolds’ Marvel Studios smash “Deadpool & Wolverine” continued to dominate North American theaters for the third consecutive week, raking in $54.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The film has now surpassed the $1 billion mark worldwide. Hot on its heels was “It Ends With Us,” a romance drama starring Lively, which exceeded all expectations with a remarkable $50 million debut.
Together, the two films stirred up a kind of family edition of “Barbenheimer,” demonstrating how counterprogramming can lead to success. Unlike the original phenomenon, this duo was led by one of Hollywood’s most beloved couples. Such box-office dynamics aren’t entirely new; back in 1990, Bruce Willis’ “Die Hard 2” topped the charts while Demi Moore’s “Ghost” came in second.
The weekend also witnessed a high-profile flop. “Borderlands,” the long-delayed $120-million videogame adaptation directed by Eli Roth, stumbled with a meager $8.8 million opening for Lionsgate. The film, featuring a star-studded cast including Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black, languished in production limbo since 2021. After delays and reshoots, it finally hit theaters with a thud, garnering a dismal 10% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is likely to contend for one of the worst movies of the year.
Meanwhile, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” co-starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, continued to break box-office records. It’s now only the second R-rated movie to reach $1 billion, following 2019’s “Joker.” In just three weeks, it has become one of the most lucrative Marvel releases ever and is trailing only behind Disney’s other 2024 hit, “Inside Out” ($1.6 billion worldwide), among movies released this year.
Lively, who makes a cameo in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” both starred in and produced “It Ends With Us.” Adapted from the bestselling romance novel by Colleen Hoover, Lively portrays Lily Bloom, a Boston florist torn between two men—one from her present life, played by Justin Baldoni, who also directed the film, and the other her first love, portrayed by Brandon Sklenar.
“It Ends With Us” had a modest production budget of $25 million, ensuring a significant profit for co-financers Columbia Pictures and Wayfarer Studios. Similar to Sony’s earlier female-driven summer release book adaptation, “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “It Ends With Us” is likely to have strong staying power through the typically slower August box-office period. Audiences awarded it an A- CinemaScore.
Reynolds and Lively occasionally played into the convergence of their films. Earlier in the week, Reynolds posted a video of himself posing junket questions to Sklenar. This playful cross-promotion evidently paid off, particularly for Lively, whose film doubled early opening-weekend forecasts.
Neon’s “Cuckoo,” a horror film set in the German Alps by filmmaker Tilman Singer, premiered with $3 million on 1,503 screens. The film stars Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- “Deadpool & Wolverine,” $54.2 million.
- “It Ends With Us,” $50 million.
- “Twisters,” $15 million.
- “Borderlands,” $8.8 million.
- “Despicable Me 4,” $8 million.
- “Trap,” $6.7 million.
- “Inside Out 2,” $5 million.
- “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” $3.1 million.
- “Cuckoo,” $3 million.
- “Longlegs,” $2 million.
