Yahoo Finance ‘Deadpool’ Breaks Box Office Record This Weekend
The foul-mouthed, extremely R-rated Wade Wilson is our newest record-breaking box office hero.
Deadpool bowed to an estimated $135 million this weekend, becoming the first R-rated movie ever to break $100 million in its opening weekend. Already making back its $58 million production budget, the Ryan Reynolds-starring superhero flick sped past all expectations and could earn as much as $150 million over the four-day holiday weekend. That's more than double initial predictions of about $65 million.
Deadpool also earned the biggest February opening weekend ever and demolished the President's Day record set by Fifty Shades of Grey, which debuted last year to $85.2 million over three days and $93 million over four.
Reynolds spent years trying to convince studios that an R-rated superhero movie would work, and if Deadpool's success is any indication, we should be seeing more of them soon. With an A CinemaScore, Deadpool is now 20th Century Fox's biggest opening ever, and it surpassed the openings of PG-13-rated superhero movies like Man of Steel ($116.6 millon), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($95 million), and Guardians of the Galaxy ($94.3 million). A Deadpool sequel hasn't officially been announced, but Fox and the screenwriters have all but confirmed that it's going to happen.
This weekend's two other new releases, however, didn't fare as well as the Merc with a Mouth. How To Be Single and Zoolander 2 couldn't even score second place, with Kung Fu Panda 3 taking the second spot with $19.7 million in its third weekend. The animated adventure has earned $93.9 million and is expected to earn $26 million over four days.
The R-rated comedy How To Be Single, starring Dakota Johnson and Rebel Wilson, took third over Valentine's Day weekend, earning $18.8 million over three days and an expected $21 million over four. It earned a B CinemaScore.
The long-awaited return of Ben Stiller's Derek and Owen Wilson's Hansel placed fourth, with Zoolander 2 earning $15.6 million over three days and an expected $18 million over four. That's actually almost identical to what the original Zoolander did 15 years ago, when it opened to $15.5 million in September 2001, unadjusted for inflation. Reviews for the sequel haven't been great, and Zoolander 2 earned a C+ CinemaScore.
The Revenant rounded out the top five in its eighth weekend, earning $6.9 million over three days and an expected $8.1 million. Through Monday, it's expected to reach a total of $160.3 million.
See this weekend's three-day top five below
1. Deadpool -- $135 milion
2. Kung Fu Panda 3 -- $19.7 million
3. How To Be Single -- $18.8 million
4. Zoolander 2 -- $15.6 million
5. The Revenant -- $6.9 million
This article was originally published on Entertainment Weekly.
See original article on Fortune.com
