“Deadpool & Wolverine” has officially crossed the billion dollar mark at the box office, adding one more shattered record to the pile the Marvel film is collecting. So, we figured it’s about time we round them up.
Resurrecting Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine (kind of), the threequel properly brings the 20th Century Fox superhero films — from back when it was still 20th Century Fox, pre-Disney merger — into the behemoth that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) finds out that his universe is dying, and soon to be helped to that death even faster by a rogue Time Variance Authority (TVA) agent, he recruits Logan (Jackman) to help him save said universe. The movie is the MCU’s first R-rated film, and as you’d expect, contains a whole bunch of swearing, along with potentially even more surprises.
Of course, that R-rating factors into at least one of the records the film has broken, so let’s run it down.
Billion Dollar Club
Only 54 movies prior to “Deadpool & Wolverine” have hit become part of the billion dollar club, the most recent one being another Disney film: “Inside Out 2.” “Deadpool & Wolverine” is only the second film to do it this year. Should it maintain its dominance, it could be the highest grossing movie of 2024 (so far).
Highest Grossing R-rated Film of All Time
To kick off the month of August, “Deadpool & Wolverine” broke a 20-year old record held by Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” to become the highest grossing R-rated film ever, at least domestically.
Then, to celebrate just the middle of August, it passed up “Joker” to become the highest grossing R-rated film of all-time, globally. It earned $1.086 billion worldwide in just 23 days.
First R-Rated Film to Earn More Than $200 Million Opening Weekend
Fewer than 10 films ever have had $200 million-plus opening weekends, and “Deadpool & Wolverine” is one of them. Raking in $211 million in its opening weekend, it became the first R-rated film to ever do it, and the sixth film in general from Marvel to accomplish that feat.
Biggest July Opening Ever (Domestically)
The summer months always see a few tentpole films, but “Deadpool & Wolverine” has blown each of its predecessors out of the water, particularly those released in July. Reynolds’ threequel now holds the highest ever opening weekend in July, passing the $191 million opening of Disney’s 2019 film “The Lion King.”
Fourth Biggest Opening Weekend for a Superhero Film
“Deadpool & Wolverine” may have been a team-up event already, but the film came pretty close to numbers that Marvel has only seen with its massive, Avengers-level team-ups. “Deadpool & Wolverine” scored the fourth biggest opening weekend for a superhero film, only behind “Avengers: Endgame,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
He has risen baby girl!
Sixth Biggest Opening of ANY Film (Domestically)
It’s hard to overstate just how successful the opening weekend of “Deadpool & Wolverine” was. Not only was it the fourth largest for superhero films, but it was the sixth largest for all films, at least domestically.
With its $211 million opening, only the three films we mentioned above, plus “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” had better opening weekends at the domestic box office.
Biggest Opening for Its Stars and Director
“Logan” had one hell of a box office run, but “Deadpool & Wolverine” passed it pretty quickly. It also passed up its two predecessors. And with that, it became the biggest opening in all of Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy’s careers.
How to Watch 'Deadpool & Wolverine'