‘Deadpool’ Is Already Breaking Box Office Records
Tim Miller’s R-rated adaptation of the beloved, foul-mouthed superhero was on track to make $60 million at the box office this weekend, but Deadpool is now expected to top that estimate as it has already begun breaking box office records for February. The Merc With a Mouth’s first solo outing is primed for the biggest R-rated movie opening of all time, as well as the biggest opening for a film released in the month of February.
Fifty Shades of Grey holds the previous record for the four-day President’s Day / Valentine’s Day holiday weekend with $30.2 million. Deadpool generated a record-breaking $12.7 million on Thursday night, followed by $47.5 million on Friday. Although early tracking indicated that the R-rated superhero comedy would gross $60 million, Ryan Reynolds’ film is now expected to top that, with some reports estimating up to $130 million by the end of the four-day weekend.
That’s huge for 20th Century Fox, as Deadpool reportedly cost about $58 million to make (after slashing $7 million from its budget at the last minute) and was a bit of a risk for the studio, which took a tip from last year’s similarly R-rated action-comedy Kingsman: The Secret Service by releasing Deadpool in February. That bet paid off, as well as the intense marketing strategy, and a sequel has already been given a green light from the studio, with original scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick currently at work on the screenplay.
Deadpool also makes for good counter-programming to the typical February fare, which includes fellow Valentine’s weekend releases like How to Be Single and the long-delayed and underwhelming Zoolander 2.