A couple of months back, the Deadpool 2 ship was looking a bit wobbly. There were reports that test audiences weren’t enjoying the movie, and the simple fact that a successful comedy sequel is a relatively rare beast had people worried. But with rave critical reviews and positive audience reactions, it’s looking as if the Merc with a Mouth is onto another winner, which is already translating into broken box office records.
Not that we’re surprised, mind you. Things got off to a smashing start on Thursday night, when DP trampled over IT to take the record for biggest Thursday box office for an R-rated movie. Pennywise was conquered yet again on Friday as well, when Wade Wilson smashed through ticket booths to earn $53.3 million during opening day.
Now, the sequel’s climbed right to the top of the ladder this weekend, with a whopping $125 million opening. And that’s just domestically (internationally, it brought in $176.3 million for a combined total of $301.3 million). In comparison to the original, well, it unfortunately fell a bit short, as Deadpool‘s record-breaking $132.4 million stateside debut still holds the crown for biggest R-rated opening domestically. Then again, that film also had a Sunday which fell on Presidents’ Day Weekend, which no doubt helped.
It should be noted that until Monday morning rolls around, these numbers are all just estimates, with some analysts thinking the sequel may actually finish around $123-$124 million when all is said and done. Still, take nothing away from Deadpool 2. Even at that figure, it’ll likely become the second highest R-rated opening ever, inching ahead of IT, which sits at $123.4 million. Worst case scenario it may finish third, but no lower than that, as The Matrix Reloaded currently sits below IT with $91.7 million.
Wherever the final numbers end up coming in, it’s clear that Deadpool 2 is nothing but a massive success for Fox and proves that there’s much life left in the Merc’s corner of the X-Men universe. As such, we imagine the studio will now be moving full steam ahead with the planned X-Force spinoff and as soon as the pieces begin to fall into place with that, we’ll be sure to let you know.